A growing number of U.S. citizens have come forward to report emails from the Department of Homeland Security ordering them to leave the United States, notices that the agency has acknowledged were, in some cases, sent in error.
Americans from coast to coast have begun to receive emails demanding that they self-deport within seven days. However, it is unclear how many notices the federal government has sent mistakenly or what corrective actions have been taken to prevent further errors.
In Wisconsin, Neenah resident Tom Frantz received two emails last Friday that he said were from DHS. Frantz told local media outlet WPR that he initially thought it was a spam email.
“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,” the email stated. “Do not attempt to remain in the United States — the federal government will find you.”
The full email stated that Frantz’s alleged parole was being terminated and that he would need to leave the country before it expired.
Frantz, 68, is a retired college administrator and teacher born in Pennsylvania and told a reporter that he had never received parole as a U.S. citizen.
Lisa Anderson, a doctor in Cromwell, Connecticut, said this week she received a letter that said, “It is time for you to leave the United States.”
“It does make me concerned; there’re a lot more people out there like me who probably also thought this was spam, who probably didn’t realize, ‘I have a problem,’” Anderson told NBC News.
In Southern California’s National City, U.S. citizen Aldo Martinez also reported receiving the email. Martinez said he was particularly concerned given his work with immigrants in his community, which is located just a few miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.
The DHS email to Martinez, who has been part of immigration lawsuits filed against the first Trump administration, stated on April 11, “You are currently here because the Department of Homeland Security paroled you into the United States for a limited period. 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. 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.”
“I was born in National City, California,” Martinez said. “I was never paroled, I was never admitted into this country, I am no type of parole.”
Massachusetts resident Nicole Micheroni, born in the state, also reported receiving the same type of email on April 11.
“At first I thought it was for a client, but I looked really closely and the only name on the email was mine,” Micheroni, 40, told NBC News. “So it said my parole status had been terminated and I should leave the country within seven days.”
“Probably, hopefully, sent to me in error,” Micheroni added. “But it’s a little concerning these are going out to U.S. citizens.”
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The DHS has acknowledged that emails went out to an unspecified number of Americans ordering them to self-deport.
“CBP used the known email addresses of the alien to send notifications,” DHS agency U.S. Customs and Border Protection wrote in an email to the Washington Examiner. “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.”
