The Department of Homeland Security has halted further admissions through a Biden program to let people from certain countries into the U.S. on a temporary basis. The reason for the halt has not been stated, but the Miami Herald reports it is due to concerns about fraud.

This is an intensely attractive venue for entry; the program is overwhelmed – just like the amnesty system, with its backlog of 3.4 million applications.  Family and friends in the U.S are trying to push through applications.  Some applicants have been waiting for well over a year. It is inevitable that many applications will have sketchy if not fraudulent elements, such as manipulation in making financial attestations and actors seeking to game the process.

The Humanitarian Parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, or CHNV parole process, was established by the Biden administration in January 2023. was modeled after the Uniting for Ukraine program, which was implemented in 2022 to assist Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion.

The program was created to reduce the number of persons coming to the Mexican border to apply for asylum. It has been credited with reducing these numbers. But, like a balloon pressed down in one part, another part will expand.

The program allows up to 30,000 individuals per month from these four countries to enter the U.S. for a period of up to two years, provided they have a U.S.-based supporter who agrees to financially support them during their stay.  About 500,000 people from these four countries had flown to the United States through the end of June: over 100,000 Cubans, roughly 200,000 Haitians, more than 90,000 Nicaraguans, and more than 110,000 Venezuelans.

DHS considers an average of only 1,000 applications a day. CHNV parole applications must be filed online. This has created a backlog 2.6 million records. (Many of these may be duplicates due to USCIS’s rules that can delete an application prematurely, which incents people to multiple file.)

Comment: This program is shifting a big part of the border crisis into a bureaucratic backroom that does not produce photos of persons crossing the border.

For the Miami Herald article, go here. For an aggressive allegation of major fraud go here. for another perspective, go here.