Homeland Security announced it is revoking the legally iffy “parole” status former President Biden gave to more than 500,000 unauthorized migrants over the last three years, setting a 30-day deadline for them to depart the U.S.
Mr. Biden’s so-called CHNV program allowed people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter the U.S. despite lacking a legal visa to do so.
More than two years into the program, though, the Trump administration said the effort had failed to meet its goals, was riddled with fraud and isn’t needed anymore.
“Accordingly, [Secretary Kristi Noem], in her discretion, is terminating the CHNV parole programs,” the department said in a new filing in the Federal Register.
Mr. Biden created CHNV amid his record-high border surge. He figured that if he could people from those four countries another avenue into the U.S. they would skip over the border, reducing stress on Border Patrol agents who were struggling with the massive waves of people.
The program required migrants to gain a U.S.-based sponsor and to agree to fly directly into a U.S. airport rather than show up at the border.
But the sponsorship program was a mess. Gang members were serving as sponsors in some cases, while in other cases fraudsters were selling sponsorships for $5,000 apiece, The Washington Times reported. Sponsors were supposed to promise to financially support the new arrivals but there appeared to be no enforcement of that under the Biden administration.
It was so bad that the Biden administration had to suspend the program for a period of time last year.
Even with the CHNV program in place, illegal immigrants still rushed the southern border in record numbers, which the Trump administration said proves the program didn’t meet its own intended goals.
“These programs do not serve a significant public benefit, are not necessary to reduce levels of illegal immigration, did not sufficiently mitigate the domestic effects of illegal immigration, are not serving their intended purposes, and are inconsistent with the administration’s foreign policy goals,” the government said.
Parole is supposed to be used on a case-by-case basis when there is an urgent humanitarian need or significant benefit to the U.S. — usually cases of a medical emergency or where someone is needed to help out a criminal investigation.
The Biden administration, though, created categorical parole programs that doled out a million passes into the U.S., effectively creating a new immigration system.
Immigrant rights groups cheered it as a humanitarian step, allowing people who might be considered refugees to reach the U.S. and claim asylum from inside the country.
President Trump shut down new CHNV applications upon taking office. He also canned another large parole program, the CBP One App, which allowed migrants in Mexico to enter without a legal visa as long as they prescheduled their arrivals at border crossings.
Homeland Security said some 532,000 migrants were welcomed through CHNV.
The department said the 30-day grace period will start once the notice revoking CHNV is formally published in the Federal Register.
Homeland Security said it hopes migrants make plans to leave on their own.
If not, the department said it will go looking, with priority given to migrants who haven’t tried to seek any other legal status — such as asylum, a victim visa or legal permanent residence — in the time they’ve been here.
Migrants who came on parole but have since won a firm legal status will not be targeted.
