An American doctor born in the U.S. received an email from immigration telling her to leave the country immediately.
Lisa Anderson was told, “It is time for you to leave the United States,” in a letter sent to her by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The Connecticut-based physician, who was born in Pennsylvania, told NBC Connecticut that the letter felt threatening.
Doctor Lisa Anderson says she is now carrying her passport everywhere after immigration told her to leave the country
Image credits: NBC News
“The language seemed pretty threatening to whomever it might actually apply to,” the 58-year-old doctor said.
“It does make me concerned there are a lot more people out there like me who probably also thought this was spam, who probably didn’t realize, ‘I have a problem.’”
Since she received the email, Anderson says she has been carrying her U.S. passport at all times.
In response to the letter, a DHS spokesperson said notices were being issued to people who do not have legal permission to reside and work in the U.S.
“If a non-personal email—such as an American citizen contact—was provided by the alien, notices may have been sent to unintended recipients,” the official told NBC.
“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,” the spokesperson added. “We are acting in the best interest of the country and enforcing the law accordingly.”
Earlier this week, U.S.-born immigration lawyer Nicole Micheroni said she had received an email from immigration telling her to leave the country, as her “parole status had been terminated.”
Immigration lawyer Nicole Micheroni said it was concerning U.S. citizens were receiving these emails
Image credits: The Hill
Micheroni told NBC Boston: “At first I thought it was for a client, but I looked really closely and the only name on the email was mine.”
The email, sent on April 11, read: “It is time for you to leave the United States.”
It continued: “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.”
Micheroni hoped the email sent to her work account was an error but said it was “a little concerning these are going out to US citizens.”
She has not heard anything from the DHS since receiving the email.
The emails come as immigration authorities urge people who are not U.S. citizens to “self-deport.”
Last month, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced a new app called CBP Home, which lets undocumented immigrants submit an “intent to depart.”
“The CBP Home app gives aliens the option to leave now and self-deport, so they may still have the opportunity to return legally in the future and live the American dream,” she said.
“If they don’t, we will find them, we will deport them, and they will never return.”
The app is part of a larger $200 million domestic and international ad campaign encouraging immigrants to “Stay Out and Leave Now.”
President Donald Trump has also suggested he will give money and plane tickets to anyone who self-deports.
“We’re going to give them a stipend. We’re going to give them some money and a plane ticket, and then we’re going to work with them—if they’re good—if we want them back in, we’re going to work with them to get them back in as quickly as we can,” Trump said in a taped interview with Fox Noticias this week.