Semi-privatized immigration, created by the Biden administration, is proving hugely popular. Households in the U.S. have demonstrated a strong appetite for providing financial guarantees and other support for nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Ukraine.

CBS reports that U.S. received more than 1.5 million requests from individuals hoping to sponsor the entry of migrants from four countries which the Biden administration enrolled in a private sponsorship “parole” program: Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. I posted last month that by this summer a half million people have been admitted through parole programs, of which most had private sponsorhips.

[The CBS report does not address an earlier – approved private sponsorship program, that for Ukrainians.  As of February 2023, 117,000 Ukrainians have been admitted under United for Ukraine program. Go here and here.]

The internal Department of Homeland Security documents obtained by CBS News indicated that as of the end of last month, the agency was receiving an average of nearly 12,000 applications per day from those seeking to sponsor Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, calling the number “overwhelming.” The documents noted that less than three days’ worth of applications were processed per month due to the 30,000 monthly cap.

The sponsorship policy is also being challenged in federal court by a coalition of Republican-led states that argue the Biden administration does not have the legal authority to use parole to admit up to 360,000 migrants each year outside of the regular visa system.

Work permits—persons who come under this program are granted a two year work permit, but it appears that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is backlogged in issuing the permits.  Conventional amnesty applicants who are permitted to stay in the U.S. have to wait for six months to be eligible to work.