‘I don’t have a place to self-deport to’: US citizen and lawyer gets DHS letter telling him to get out of America

Lawyer who received notice to self-deport was born in the US

Adam Peña, a California attorney and citizen of the United States, says he was “stunned” to receive a self-deportation email from the Department of Homeland Security in early April, ordering him to leave within seven days.

Peña, born in El Paso, Texas, received a notice of self-deportation on April 10 in which DHS informed him his parole was ending and he had seven days to “leave the United States.”

“I don't have a place to self-deport to," Peña told 10 News San Diego.

Peña said he was “confused” when he received the email because his family has lived in the U.S. for over a century.

An immigration attorney in San Diego received an email from DHS asking him to self-deport within seven days, but the attorney is a US citizen (AP)

“I am a U.S.-born U.S. citizen. I was never paroled, admitted or came into the country with some valid immigration document,” Peña said.

Peña told CBS8 he works as an immigration lawyer with a non-profit in San Diego, helping undocumented immigrants seek legal status and assisting detainees.

While he hopes he was an unintended recipient of the email, Peña said other immigration lawyers have received similar emails or letters, and feels it could have been the government “trying to exert its authority.”

“The fact is, you know, I feel also this was sent as a form of intimidation and scare tactic, really to immigration advocates around the country, obviously I'm not the only one," Peña told CBS8.

The Independent has asked the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment.

In a statement provided to CBS8, a spokesperson for DHS said Customs and Border Patrol uses “known email addresses” of undocumented immigrants to send parole termination notifications to those who do not have legal status.

“CBP used the known email addresses of the alien to send notifications. 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,” the spokesperson said.

Peña said that other attorneys in his office received a similar notice from DHS.