Citizen who was ordered to leave the U.S. in 7 days says she’s heard nothing from federal officials

Federal authorities instructed Nicole Micheroni, a 40-year-old U.S. citizen and immigration attorney from Massachusetts, to depart the country within a week. Micheroni expressed her concerns to MSNBC, stating that she had not received any communication from the Department of Homeland Security, which she believes mistakenly issued the notice telling her to leave the United States. Describing the situation as chaotic, she criticized DHS for its lack of attention to detail.

The email notifying Micheroni of the termination of her “parole,” a provision in immigration law allowing noncitizens to stay in the U.S. for a limited time, came from a no-reply address. The message warned of potential law enforcement actions if she did not leave immediately. Micheroni found the email suspicious as it lacked personal details typically included in communications from immigration authorities.

A senior DHS official explained that Customs and Border Protection is sending out parole termination notices to individuals without legal status in the U.S. using known email addresses. However, this method has led to unintended recipients like Micheroni and another U.S. citizen immigration attorney, Carmen Bello, receiving such notices. Bello criticized the department for not verifying the recipients of these emails, highlighting the lack of responsibility in the process.