The Biden administration announced Thursday that it is restarting a controversial parole policy that allows tens of thousands of migrants into the United States each month. The policy was paused last month due to reports of substantial fraud within part of the program.
The Department of Homeland Security announced it is resuming the parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) after it “incorporated additional vetting of U.S.-based supporters to strengthen the integrity of the processes.”
“With these updated procedures in place, DHS is resuming the issuance of new Advance Travel Authorizations and will closely monitor how this new process is operating moving forward,” a spokesperson said.
In July, the administration halted the issuance of advance travel authorizations for a program that permits 30,000 nationals from those countries to enter the U.S. legally each month under the administration’s parole policy, which has been in effect since early 2023.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed at the time that “out of an abundance of caution” it has stopped issuing the authorizations and that it takes abuse of processes very seriously.
The pause followed an internal report, partly released by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which revealed that 100,948 forms were completed by 3,218 serial sponsors—individuals whose names appeared on 20 or more forms.
It also found that 24 of the 1,000 most used numbers belonged to a dead person. Meanwhile, 100 physical addresses were used between 124 and 739 times on over 19,000 forms. Those addresses included storage units. The focus is on issues with supporter filings, and not with the filings from the beneficiaries of the program themselves.
On Thursday, DHS said the new vetting measures include “further scrutiny of supporters’ financial records and criminal background, additional vetting to identify fraudulent supporter profiles, and bolstered review methods to identify serial filing trends.” DHS will also require fingerprints from supporters.
“Together with our existing rigorous vetting of potential beneficiaries seeking to travel to the United States, these new procedures for supporters have strengthened the integrity of these processes and will help protect against exploitation of beneficiaries,” the statement said.
The Biden administration has asserted that the expanded use of parole processes has resulted in a reduction in illegal border crossings, including a 98% decrease among nationals from CHNV countries compared to December 2022.
However, Republicans have criticized the administration’s use of parole, contending that it constitutes an abuse of the process, which is intended for case-by-case applications based on urgent humanitarian needs or significant public benefits.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said the resumption was no surprise, despite the fraud revelations.
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