A U.S. citizen and immigration lawyer from Massachusetts says she was shocked when the Trump administration told her to leave the country—or face removal.
Nicole Micheroni, who was born in the U.S., says she got an email on April 11 with the subject line: “notice of termination of parole.”
“It is time for you to leave the United States,” the email said. “If you do not depart the United States immediately you will be subject to potential law enforcement actions that will result in your removal from the United States.”
“At first I thought it was for a client,” Micheroni told NBC Boston. “But I looked really closely and the only name on the email was mine.”
She added, “Probably, hopefully, [it was] sent to me in error. But it’s a little concerning these are going out to US citizens.”
This happened as the Trump administration continues pushing hard to remove non-citizens from the U.S.—even people who are here legally and haven’t broken the law. Trump has even talked about removing U.S. citizens who commit crimes and sending them to prison in El Salvador.
Legal experts say removing U.S. citizens is illegal.
An official with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told NBC Boston that Micheroni may have gotten the email because her name and contact info are listed on immigration paperwork for her clients.
According to DHS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) used “the known email addresses of the alien to send notifications.” The official said, “If a non-personal email such as an American citizen contact was provided by the alien, notices may have been sent to unintended recipients.”
They also said, “CBP is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis.”
Micheroni said, “I think it’s a scare tactic. I think they want people afraid of immigration.”
