Illegal Aliens Paroled in the U.S. Will Not Be Eligible for Extensions, DHS Says
FAIR Take | October 2024
In a surprising announcement, the Biden-Harris administration said that it will not extend the parole granted to 530,000 illegal aliens released in the U.S. but instead will allow their parole to expire at the end of the two-year period originally granted. While seemingly good news, the announcement does not halt the illegal program. To the contrary, the CHNV parole program will continue, and new waves of foreign nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela may continue to apply, fly to the United States, obtain parole, and be released into the United States.
The CHNV program, which was launched for Venezuelans in October 2022 and extended to Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans in January 2023, was created under the guise of allowing nationals from these countries to fly into the U.S., thereby reducing illegal land crossings at the southern border. Once in the U.S. they would be able to apply for some other form of immigration relief, such as asylum, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), or even a green card for a portion who might be eligible.
Of the 530,000 illegal aliens who have entered the U.S. under the program so far, about 214,000 are from Haiti. In addition, there are approximately 117,000 Venezuelans, 111,000 Cubans, and 96,000 Nicaraguans. The two-year period for Venezuelans will end this month, leaving these nationals to either leave the U.S. or find another way to avoid deportation.
While the CHNV parole program was temporarily shut down in mid-July to investigate evidence of rampant fraud, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) swiftly restarted it on August 29 while offering only very vague assurances that it had fixed the problems. DHS admitted publicly that the program had allowed hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens from these four countries to enter the United States without adequate processes in place to vet parolees or their sponsors. However, DHS gave no indication that they are going to investigate past fraud or move to revoke the parole statuses of those who gained it fraudulently.
In response to the announcement that it would not extend parole for those in the U.S., FAIR expressed suspicion. “So much for the touted success of the Biden-Harris administration’s so-called ‘lawful pathways.’ The Biden-Harris administration just re-started the CHNV parole program—after FAIR exposed massive fraud in the program this summer. And when the administration resumed the CHNV program, it assured all Americans that all the necessary safeguards in place and that it could properly vet the migrants coming into the U.S. This move clearly shows they knew they were wrong.”
Open-borders advocates are now counseling illegal aliens in the U.S. on how to avoid deportation. Under Biden-Harris, Haitians and Venezuelans may qualify for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) due to recent designations and re-designations that would protect them from removal. Cuban migrants can apply for green cards under the Cuban Adjustment Act. In addition, aliens from all four countries may be eligible to apply for green cards if they are spouses of U.S. citizens. These aliens could even be eligible for employment-sponsored green cards, depending on the circumstances.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which operates the CHNV program, told the public, “If you have not sought a lawful status or period of authorized stay, you will need to leave the United States before your authorized parole period expires, or you may be placed in removal proceedings after your period of parole expires. If your parole expires, you will no longer be employment authorized based on being a parolee, and if you have not been granted a lawful status or period of authorized stay, you may begin to accrue unlawful presence in the United States.”
But allowing parole to expire is not enough. The two-year parole period for aliens currently here may end, but the CHNV program will continue. New waves of foreign nationals – who are legally inadmissible – will still be allowed to fly into the U.S. and be released into the U.S. on parole. The Biden-Harris administration must immediately stop this illegal program. And if the Biden-Harris administration wants credit, or to appear tough, for ending parole they simply converting them to TPS beneficiaries or fast-tracking asylum applications, it is not solving the problem.