US-Born Connecticut Doctor Erroneously Ordered to Leave Country by Homeland Security

Dr. Lisa Anderson, a physician residing in Connecticut, is seeking legal counsel after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) mistakenly instructed her to leave the United States. 

The email, received by Anderson, a US citizen born in Pennsylvania, stated, “It is time for you to leave the United States.” Anderson expresses confusion, noting she has no involvement with immigration matters. She suspects misuse of her email address led to her inclusion in DHS communications intended for non-citizens. Two Massachusetts-based immigration attorneys, Nicole Micheroni and Carmen Bello, also received similar emails. Both US citizens were erroneously informed of expiring immigration parole, a status inapplicable to them. 

“I really have no idea how my email ended up on that list unless someone else was using that as a false email,” Anderson said. “I don’t have anything to do with immigration and I never thought that I would have needed the services of an immigration attorney either, and that’s where I find myself.”

Immigration parole allows temporary residence and work in the US while awaiting case hearings, a program facing recent restrictions. DHS acknowledged the email sent to Micheroni as a mistake. The lack of further clarification has left recipients uncertain. Micheroni stresses that such emails, while not formal deportation orders, require immediate legal attention.

Anderson's attorneys have advised her to carry her passport at all times, fearing others might dismiss these communications as spam, unaware of potential consequences. Questions arise regarding safeguards to prevent such errors and their impact on individuals. Anderson's experience has prompted her to seek an immigration attorney, a service she never anticipated needing.

“The language seemed pretty threatening to whomever it might actually apply to,” she told WVIT. “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 realise, ‘I have a problem.’ ”