“People are terrified and confused,” Marino told ABC News. “I don’t know how people react to their government telling them to disconnect from lifesaving health care.”
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The letters warn that if they don’t leave the within 33 days, it could make them ineligible to return to the U.S.
“You are not authorized to remain in the United States,” the USCIS field office in Boston wrote in one letter. “If you fail to depart the United States within 33 days of the date of this letter, USCIS may issue you a Notice to Appear and Commence removal proceedings against you with the immigration court.”
USCIS, the agency in charge of legal immigration and processing visas, told ABC News that “this does not mean the end of deferred action” but rather that any requests must be submitted to a different agency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is the department in charge of deportations.
But the enforcement agency wasn’t aware of the policy change until reports surfaced in the press, according to an ICE official. The agency doesn’t have a process to accept the medical deferment applications that were previously reviewed by USCIS, the official said.
(MORE: Trump administration underestimating impact of new immigration rule, advocates say)
“ICE reviews each case on its own merits and exercises appropriate discretion after reviewing all the facts of each case,” an ICE spokesperson said in a statement.
Marino’s clients include a mix of citizens and non-citizens whose families are trying to avoid deportation. For example, one of Marino’s clients is the mother to the 4-year-old who suffers from cerebral palsy. The 4-year-old is a U.S. citizen, but her mother is not.
His clients may be able to pursue other ways to avoid deportation, but their options have been limited.
“What we do next is probably sue them,” Marino said. “We’re certainly keeping that option open.”
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
