- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the news to the EFE agency | Photo: Sin Fronteras
The U.S. government on Thursday, August 29, resumed issuing humanitarian permits for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, which allow people from these countries to travel and enter the country legally, and which had been suspended at the beginning of the month to investigate possible fraud.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to EFE that after a pause of almost four weeks it has restarted the program that grants monthly entry to up to 30,000 people from these four countries to the US and allows them to obtain a work permit for a period of two years.
In a written statement, DHS explained that the screening process has been improved, especially for sponsors of people applying under a figure known as parole.
“DHS has incorporated additional vetting of U.S.-based sponsors to strengthen the integrity of our processes,” the agency said.
The program, which began in late 2022 only for Venezuelan citizens and was later expanded to include the other three nationalities, has allowed the entry of almost half a million migrants to the US, according to DHS data.
On August 2nd, DHS put the awarding of authorizations on hold on a trip “while reviewing sponsor applications.”
To apply for the permit, migrants need to have a sponsor in the U.S. who already has legal status and can demonstrate that they have enough income to financially support the program beneficiary.
New measures for requesting parole
The enhanced vetting measures announced Thursday include, among others, increased scrutiny of sponsors’ financial records and criminal histories, and methods to identify the submission of multiple applications by a single sponsor.
As part of the new process, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Fraud Detection and Homeland Security Directorate and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center have partnered to implement new and enhanced investigative protocols, DHS said.
The federal agency will also now require fingerprints from sponsors and has stepped up background checks on potential beneficiaries.
Biden’s immigration policy
The program, which has been the target of criticism and legal action by conservative opposition, is part of the Biden administration’s measures to curb migration at the southern border.
The measure, coupled with the asylum restrictions that the government has been implementing over the past two years, has helped reduce the number of people from these four countries who are arrested at the border with Mexico.
The decline has been especially noticeable in apprehensions of people from Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua, according to CBP data.
With information from EFE
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2024-08-30 15:57:07
