Immigration activists Ashley Patel and Niko Zamora embrace during a protest against an immigration policy event featuring Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, and former ICE Director Tom Homan at New College of Florida in Sarasota, Florida, U.S., March 20, 2025. REUTERS/Octavio Jones
An Arizona immigration attorney who was born in Boston and is an American citizen expressed astonishment after receiving a letter from the Department of Homeland Security telling her she must leave the United States.
Pamela Rioles Saeed told KNXV-TV she received an email from DHS informing her that her parole had been revoked and she must depart the country within a week.
“I thought this was for one of my clients, but then I saw that it was addressed only to me," she told the TV station. “With the dot gov, it said it was from CBP.”
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A fellow attorney said others in his office had also received the notices, she said.
DHS told the outlet in a statement that some of its mass emails have been received by the wrong people.
"CBP has issued notices terminating parole for individuals who do not have lawful status to remain," the agency said in the statement. "This process is not limited to CBP One users and does not currently apply to those paroled under programs such as U4U and OAW."
Customs officials use the known email addresses of the immigrant to send notifications, the agency added.
"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," DHS said.
Rioles Saeed blasted the administration for what she called "true recklessness coming from the government" and said it "shows an intimidating attitude towards our immigrant clients."
Since President Donald Trump returned to office on Jan. 20, more than 100,000 undocumented migrants have been deported from the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Hundreds of thousands of legal visas have been revoked as the administration cracks down on immigration.