President Joe Biden's expanded parole system has attracted more than 1 million migrants to the U.S. since January 2023, according to federal data. But the administration's parole process has already revealed a major flaw: It can't track parolees' status once they're in the U.S.
Roughly 460,000 migrants arrived in the U.S. on commercial flights after the Biden administration allowed parole, and another 630,000 sought parole status at ports of entry through the CBP One mobile app, according to a new report from Customs and Border Protection (CBP). dataSince 2021, the Biden administration has granted parole to tens of thousands of Afghans despite having no system to actually track migrants who arrive in the United States, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) said. found In May. (Related article: Five illegal immigrants indicted for kidnapping 14-year-old girl in Midwestern US)
The OIG report raises important questions, including whether the administration is aware of all people who have recently been granted parole into the United States.
YUMA, ARIZONA – MAY 22: Migrants from Ecuador gather around a fire in a gap in the US-Mexico border wall as they wait to be processed by the US Border Patrol after crossing the border from Mexico after sunrise, on May 22, 2022 in Yuma, Arizona. Title 42, the controversial pandemic-era border policy enacted by former President Trump that rapidly expelled asylum seekers at the US border due to COVID-19, was set to officially expire on May 23. A federal judge in Louisiana ruled on May 20 blocking the Biden administration from lifting Title 42. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
On January 5, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) New Parole A process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who have “supporters” in the United States. CHNV Parole ProcessIn this parole process, immigrants are screened and allowed to buy a ticket to enter the country and be granted parole. (RELATED: Flight documents reveal cities taking migrants under Biden's parole program)
Also that month, the Biden administration roll out of CBP One Mobile AppThe app serves as a scheduling tool to “encourage aliens to use the legal, safe, humane, and orderly pathways process.” The Department of Homeland Security encourages immigrants to use the app rather than “undertaking the dangerous journey illegally between ports of entry.”
The report said that since its launch, more than 630,000 migrants have scheduled appointments through the app, with more than 44,500 processed in May alone. Most of the migrants who scheduled appointments through the app are Haitians, Cubans, Venezuelans, Mexicans and Hondurans. (Related: ICE says local authorities ignored detention orders and released illegal immigrant convicted of child sex crimes)
Migrants from Central and South America take part in a caravan heading for the Mexico-US border and perform a procession of the cross to protest against the deaths of 40 migrants in a fire at a detention centre in the northern city of Juarez in Tapachula, in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, on April 23, 2023. (STRINGER / AFP) (STRINGER / AFP via Getty Images)
The Biden administration had already approved a separate parole plan for Afghans following the U.S.'s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, before expanding the parole program in 2023 to address the migrant influx.
Through this program, Alliance Operations welcome According to a recent report, the American Relief and Works Agency for Afghanistan Refugees (OAW) has allowed approximately 77,000 Afghans to enter the United States. May 2024 Report An investigation compiled by the OIG found that the federal government had no system for tracking the parole status of tens of thousands of immigrants.
According to the OIG investigation, three DHS agencies were responsible for vetting and facilitating the parole of these immigrants: CBP, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). However, the report found that none of these agencies adequately monitored parolees for expiry through the OAW.
According to the CBP, more than 6 million migrants have been encountered at the southern border since Biden took office. dataMore than 1.2 million people have fled border patrols in fiscal year 2022-2023. (Related article: ICE arrests illegal immigrant for 13th time after years of crime spree)
More than 40,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records have been arrested in the past three years. Data from CBP.
“Our enforcement efforts continue to reduce encounters at the southwest border,” Troy Miller, the secretary's senior official performing duties, said Thursday in response to the newly released CBP data, “but the fact remains that our immigration system is not resourced to keep up with the current situation.”
DHS and CBP did not respond to requests for comment.
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