Immigration lawyer hits out at Trump administration after it mistakenly sent 'scary' email deporting her
An immigration lawyer was erroneously sent a 'scary-sounding' email stating she was being deported from the US - despite being born there.
Nicole Micheroni, 40, received correspondence from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Friday (11 April) morning which was worryingly titled 'Notification of Termination of Parole'.
She initially presumed it was for one of her clients, but was left baffled when she realised the deportation notice was seemingly meant for her.
The immigration lawyer, who is a partner at Massachusetts law firm Cameron Micheroni & Silvia, explained that the email did not include a case number or client name.
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Micheroni told the Boston Globe: "It took me a couple of minutes to realise it was sent to me instead of someone I represent."
The US citizen, who was born in the city of Newton and raised in the town of Sharon, explained that the email warned that the 'federal government will find you' if she remained in the US.
The message stated: "It is time for you to leave the United States. DHS is terminating your parole. Do not attempt to remain in the United States - the federal government will find you."
The legal whizz explained she was alarmed by the 'very threatening' language in the deportation notice, although it equally looked like a 'sketchy spam email'.
"It doesn’t look like an official government notice, but it is," Micheroni told NBC News. "I think it’s really scary this is going on."
The DHS has since confirmed that the chilling email was sent to the immigration attorney by mistake.
Although she suspected something of the sort, Micheroni reckons the blunder is an example of the Trump administration 'not being careful' when using 'intimidation tactics' on undocumented migrants.
It turns out that the email was genuine, even though it was not meant to land in Micheroni's inbox.
Sarah Sherman-Stokes, associate director of the Immigrants' Rights and Human Trafficking Clinic at Boston University School of Law, said the email showed how the government are steamrolling deportation plans.
She explained that the majority of the emails were sent to asylum seekers who were using the CBP One app, which was introduced by Joe Biden during his presidency.
It allowed migrants to arrange appointments and hearings as part of their bid to remain in the US and it's users were given 'parole' from immigration laws so they could legally work, the BBC reported.
The DHS said that the 'Biden Administration abused the parole authority to allow millions of illegal aliens into the US which further fuelled the worst border crisis in US history'.
"Cancelling these paroles is a promise kept to the American people to secure our borders and protect national security," it added.
Micheroni - who has practiced immigration law for 12 years - said she has never seen immigration parole being terminated via email during her career.
The lawyer said that although she was not personally worried about the email, as she it was sent in error, she is very concerned for both her clients and other migrants.
"I never took DHS's scary-sounding notice that I had seven days to leave the country too seriously, because it was obviously some kind of mistake," Micheroni said.
"It’s meant to be an intimidation tactic to get people to leave the country. In some ways, I don’t think they really care who they reach, as long as the message is being received."
A senior DHS official told the Boston Globe that the mistake could have been a result of an asylum seeker including Micheroni's details in their contact information.
"[Customs and Border Protection] is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis," the DHS statement added.
A spokesperson for US Customs and Border Protection told LADbible: "CBP has issued notices terminating parole for individuals who do not have lawful status to remain. This process is not limited to CBP One users and does not currently apply to those paroled under programs such as U4U and OAW.
"CBP used the known email addresses of the alien to send notifications. If a non-personal email - such as an American citizen contact - was provided by the alien, notices may have been sent to unintended recipients. CBP is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis.
"To be clear: If you are an alien, being in the United States is a privilege - not a right. We are acting in the best interest of the country and enforcing the law accordingly."
The spokesperson also added: "If an immigration attorney used their own email address while assisting an alien with documentation - such as CBP One applications - or if the alien listed the attorney’s contact information, termination notices could have been sent to recipients, other than to the alien directly, who appear to have served as a representative or point of contact for the alien."
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News
Olivia Burke