US immigration attorney receives deportation email by mistake

Nicole Micheroni, a Massachusetts resident, was shocked when she received an email on Friday from the federal government instructing her to leave the country. Initially, she assumed the message was meant for a client, but upon closer inspection, she realized the email was addressed to her.

The email stated that her parole status had been terminated and that she should depart within seven days. However, Micheroni, 40, is a U.S. citizen, born in Newton, Massachusetts.

"The language in the email is very threatening," she said. "And it looks kind of like a sketchy spam email. It doesn't look like an official government notice, but it is," she told NBC News.

The email, sent by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, reads: "It is time for you to leave the United States. You are currently here because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) paroled you into the United States for a limited period. Pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d) (5)(A) and 8 C.F.R. § 212.5(e), DHS is now exercising its discretion to terminate your parole. Unless it expires sooner, your parole will terminate seven days from the date of this notice."

According to HuffPost, this message is part of a series of similar notices sent to non-U.S. citizens who used the CBP One mobile app to enter the U.S. The app, introduced under the Biden administration to streamline border crossings, was later canceled by President Donald Trump.

A senior DHS official told HuffPost in an email on Monday that Micheroni may have been contacted incorrectly because a non-U.S. citizen used her email address when submitting their information.

Micheroni expressed concern about the situation.

"I think it's really scary this is going on," Micheroni told NBC. "I think it says they're not being careful."

Micheroni shared the email on her Bluesky account, stating that she was not worried because "it was obviously some kind of mistake," but she also questioned the preciseness of administrative protocols.

Her post has received thousands of responses globally, with many people expressing concerns and asking what they should do if they receive the same email.

While Micheroni does not plan to contact the DHS, she considers the email to be an administrative mistake and hopes it does not lead to further complications.

Beginning in January 2023, the CBP One app allowed migrants to schedule appointments at legal ports of entry rather than crossing the border unlawfully to request asylum. This initiative was a key component of the Biden administration's strategy to ease pressure at the U.S.-Mexico border by establishing temporary legal pathways through a provision called humanitarian parole.

The Trump administration quickly ended that policy and is now urging migrants who benefited from it to leave without delay, according to NPR.

The Department of Homeland Security stated last week that it has issued formal termination notices to certain migrants who entered the U.S. via the CBP One app, though it did not specify how many migrants have received these notices.