FIRST ON FOX: A top House committee is investigating the Biden administration’s decision to freeze a controversial program that allows migrants to fly or travel directly into the U.S. after revelations of fraud within the program – saying they are “deeply concerned” by what has been revealed.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., wrote to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, demanding documents and communications on the pause of the parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV) after a briefing he says was “wholly unsatisfactory.”
Fox News Digital first reported that the Biden administration paused the issuing of advance travel authorizations in July for the program, which allows 30,000 nationals from those countries to travel into the U.S. each month and enter legally under the administration’s use of parole since early 2023.
‘SHUT IT DOWN’: BIDEN MIGRANT FLIGHT PROGRAM UNDER INTENSE PRESSURE TO DISBAND AFTER FRAUD REVELATIONS
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to Fox News Digital at that time that “out of an abundance of caution” it has stopped issuing the authorizations and that it takes abuse of processes very seriously.
“Out of an abundance of caution, DHS has temporarily paused the issuance of advanced travel authorizations for new beneficiaries while it undertakes a review of supporter applications. DHS will restart application processing as quickly as possible, with appropriate safeguards,” a spokesperson said.
The pause came after an internal report, parts of which have been made public by the Federation of American Immigration Reform, found that 100,948 forms were filled out by 3,218 serial sponsors – those whose number appears on 20 or more forms.
It also found that 24 of the 1,000 most used numbers belonged to a dead person. Meanwhile, 100 physical addresses were used between 124 and 739 times on over 19,000 forms. Those addresses included storage units. The focus is on issues with supporter filings, and not with the filings from the beneficiaries of the program themselves.
The House Republicans say they received a briefing on Aug. 5, but officials “failed to adequately respond to even basic questions about the confirmation of the dates that parole processing was suspended, fraud indicators used by the Department to screen sponsors, sponsorship threshold numbers that would trigger concerns for fraud, the Department’s plan for tracking upcoming parole expirations, or the current backlog of CHNV travel authorizations awaiting Department approval.”
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“The Committee finds the August 5 briefing wholly unsatisfactory,” the lawmakers, including Reps. Clay Higgins, R-La., and Dan Bishop, R-N.C., say.
They also say documents they have obtained so far show that officers were instructed to allow supporters to sponsor up to 10 separate applications before being submitted for a review of potential fraud.
“The Committee is deeply concerned that such measures reduced the level of scrutiny that prospective sponsor applications received, which possibly enabled the widespread abuse of the CHNV parole program as described in the report on the Department’s internal investigation,” they say.
The lawmakers are requesting an unredacted copy of the internal report, all communications internally about fraud within the program, documents on the suspension of the program, documents related to the dates of when authorizations were suspended – and information related to current backlogs, as well as documents about fraud safeguards for other parole programs in use.
DHS told Fox that it responds to congressional correspondence directly via official channels, and that “the Department will continue to respond to congressional oversight.”
BIDEN ADMIN FREEZES CONTROVERSIAL MIGRANT FLIGHT PROGRAM AFTER FRAUD REVELATIONS
The program has long been controversial among Republicans, It was initially announced for Venezuelans in October 2022, expanded to additional nationals in January 2023, and allows migrants to receive work permits and two years of authorization if they pass biometric and biographical checks, and have a sponsor. The program does not itself facilitate flights, and migrants are responsible for their own travel.
Republicans have claimed the program is an abuse of parole authority – which is allowed to be used for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.
“Shut it down permanently,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said after the pause was revealed.
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DHS stressed to Fox News Digital that CHNV beneficiaries are “thoroughly screened and vetted prior to their arrival to the United States.”
“The multi-layered screening and vetting for advanced travel authorizations is separate from the screening of U.S.-based supporters,” the spokesperson continued. “DHS has not identified issues of concern relating to the screening and vetting of beneficiaries.”
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