On Friday, federal authorities ordered Nicole Micheroni to leave the country within seven days.
Micheroni — a 40-year-old U.S. citizen, immigration attorney and Massachusetts resident — told MSNBC that as of Tuesday, she has heard nothing from the Department of Homeland Security, which she believes mistakenly sent the notice that told her “it is time for you to leave the United States.”
“The process is a mess right now,” she said. “DHS is not being careful.”
Nicole Micheroni is interviewed by NBC Boston.
The email came from a no-reply address, Micheroni said, and it informed her that her “parole” — which in immigration law allows noncitizens to enter or remain in the United States for limited periods of time — had been terminated, according to a screenshot of the email shared with NBC Boston.
“If you do not deport 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 says.
The notice was sent to her work email, Micheroni said, but it was different from the emails she typically gets from immigration authorities about clients. No name was included in the message, she said, nor was there a case number.
Initially, Micheroni wasn’t sure whether it was real.
“I kind of laughed at first, and then I was like, wait a minute,” she said. “This is very concerning.”
In a statement, a senior official with the Department of Homeland Security said a separate agency — Customs and Border Protection — is issuing parole termination notices to people who do not have lawful status to remain in the United States.
“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. CBP is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis.”
To be clear: If you are an alien, being in the United States is a privilege—not a right. We are acting in the best interest of the country and enforcing the law accordingly.”
A second U.S. citizen and Boston-area immigration attorney, Carmen Bello, told NBC Boston that she, too, received a notice of parole termination telling her to leave the country.
“They’re not even checking if it’s the attorney’s email or the applicant’s email,” Bello said, referring to migrants who have applied for parole. “I think there’s a lack of responsibility on the department on sending the letters like this.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com