US Strips Benefits From Thousands of Criminal Aliens, Those on Terror Watchlist

The federal government has ended parole benefits for thousands of foreigners. Social Security reclassifies them as not entitled to receive payments.

The Trump administration has terminated temporary immigrant parole and revoked federal benefits for thousands of foreigners flagged as national security risks, part of a broader effort to roll back immigration programs implemented under the Biden administration.

More than 6,300 individuals paroleed to the US since 2023 were identified as having a criminal history or listed in the FBI’s terrorist screening database, White House officials said. Their parole ended on April 8th.

As part of the enforcement action, the Social Security Administration reclassified these individuals’ Social Security numbers into ineligible master files. Formerly known as the Deathmaster File, the system is used to ensure that only legally eligible individuals have access to programs such as Social Security, Medicaid and other federal management aid.

Immigrant parole allows certain non-citizens to temporarily enter and stay in the United States. During that time, they can receive a work permit and Social Security number if they are parole for more than a year.

White House press chief Liz Houston said the lawsuit fulfills President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to enforce immigration law more closely.

“President Trump promises a massive deportation and encourages them to self-abolize by removing financial incentives for illegal aliens to come and stay,” Huston issued a statement in an email to the Epoch era. “He makes the promise he made to the Americans.”

The policy changes follow a March 25 notice in the federal register from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that officially terminates the CHNV parole program. Created in 2022 and 2023, the programs, along with about half a million citizens and their close relatives in Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, allowed them to request entry into the United States and applications for parole based on category standards.

“DHS has determined that it is currently appropriate and necessary to terminate the CHNV parole program,” the notice states. “These programs are not useful in the great public interest, not necessary to reduce the level of illegal immigration, do not adequately mitigate the domestic effects of illegal immigration, do not serve intended purposes, and are inconsistent with the administration’s foreign policy goals.”

The DHS also noted that parole periods for individuals still in the US under CHNV authorities will end on April 24, unless the Secretary of Homeland Security makes separate exceptions. Those without legal basis that will remain after that date must either voluntarily depart or face enforcement.

The changes are in place under Executive Order 14165, which secured the border, signed by Trump on January 20th. The order directed the department to terminate parole programs that are deemed to be inconsistent with the administration’s immigration priorities.