Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vows to fight back against what he says is the Biden administration’s illegal use of parole power to allow illegal migrants to fly to the U.S. by the tens of thousands every month, as revealed by a new report that places Miami as a popular destination for migrants on these flights.
“This is an illegal program. They’re bringing in people who have no right to be in this country from foreign countries,” DeSantis said Wednesday.
His administration highlighted a study by the Center for Immigration Studies, which, using Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, reported that migrants admitted to the United States through the United States’ parole program Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV) mainly chose Miami as their destination. The study found that more than 326,000 migrants have arrived so far via Miami.
“This is one of many examples of how Biden’s outrageous and illegal immigration policies are disproportionately taxing some states’ resources,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a statement released Tuesday. “Just as with Biden’s other illegal policies, we will continue to challenge the CHNV program in court. »
The policy was first announced for Venezuelans in October 2022, which allowed a limited number of them to fly or travel directly to the United States provided they had not entered the country illegally. the territory, that they already have a sponsor in the United States and that they have passed certain biometric and biographical checks. The program does not facilitate flights itself, and migrants are responsible for their own travel.
In January 2023, the administration announced that the program was expanding to include Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Cubans and would allow up to 30,000 people per month to enter the United States. It allows migrants to receive work permits and authorization to reside in the United States for two years and was announced at the same time as an expansion of Title 42 deportations to include these nationalities. As of the end of February 2024, more than 386,000 nationals arrived under the parole program, according to DHS.
It is part of the administration’s strategy to expand “legal avenues” for migration as part of its broader efforts to slow illegal crossings at the southern border amid a record surge.
Announcement of the program was met with a lawsuit from 20 states, which argued that it exceeds the limited authority to use parole, authorized by Congress only “on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.” The states argued that this “amounts to the creation of a new visa program that allows hundreds of thousands of foreigners to enter the United States who otherwise have no reason to do so.” »
“The federal government encourages illegal immigration and even helps these people enter the country,” said DeSantis communications director Bryan Griffin. “They disguised these secret flights as a legal parole program. »
