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From NBC News: [emphasis added] A program that let migrants apply for U.S. entry from their home countries that was paused because of potential mass fraud may be revived by the Biden administration as soon as this week, even though thousands of suspect applications still need review, two sources told NBC News.
The Biden administration announced last month that an 18-month-old program that had let Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans apply for legal entry and temporary work authorization in the U.S. would be “temporarily paused” while the Department of Homeland Security conducted “a review of supporter applications.”
Those supporters, also called sponsors, are people legally living in the U.S. who make the initial applications for the migrants who want to enter the U.S. The sponsors vouch that they can financially support the migrants once they arrive, and the migrants then follow up with an additional request for entry before federal authorities say yes or no.
An internal DHS report reviewed by NBC News, however, found that almost 101,000 sponsor applications for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Ukraine were filed by 3,218 so-called serial sponsors. The report, produced by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of DHS, does not say how many of those applicants entered the U.S. The report was first cited publicly by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an anti-immigration advocacy group.
The investigative report on the controversial program discovered that thousands of the “sponsors” all used the same address, phone number and IP address. NBC cites one example where nearly 600 applications all had the address of a commercial warehouse in Orlando, Florida.
FAIR had also revealed that applicants used social security numbers of deceased individuals, and “24 of the 1,000 most used sponsor SSNs belong to a deceased individual.”
The Biden administration touts that flying the migrants directly into the us prevents them from having to cross the border “illegally.”
NBC News wrote:
The administration is eager to turn the program back on as quickly as possible because it is believed to be deterring migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela crossing the border illegally, a source familiar with the decision said.
Exclusive w/ @strickdc The Biden administration is planning to restart a program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to apply to come to the US this week, despite not finishing a review into 100K applications red flagged for possible fraud https://t.co/vZYmkmsEF0
— Julia E. Ainsley (@JuliaEAinsley) August 28, 2024
The Washington Times reported that DHS is now asking for “volunteers” to help process applications as they seek to restart the controversial program. The Times wrote:
The Homeland Security Department’s citizenship agency has put out a call for volunteers to help process applications for a fraud-plagued program that allows unauthorized migrants from some Latin American nations to skip the border and fly directly into the U.S.
The program has welcomed more than a half-million migrants who lack legal visas to enter the U.S. It was abruptly paused several weeks ago after an internal review found massive fraud, but the call for volunteers suggests U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is looking for a quick restart.
In the email call for volunteers, Donna Campagnolo, USCIS chief human capital officer, said the agency wants volunteers by the end of this week.
“This will be a full-time, remote detail for 180 days. No prior experience is necessary,” Ms. Campagnolo wrote. “Training will be provided, and overtime may be available.”
Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) reacted to the news, writing, “Looking to come to the U.S. illegally but don’t want to wait in line at the border? No problem, Biden/Harris are now relaunching a program to allow illegal immigrants to fly directly into the U.S. on the taxpayer’s dime. This is insanity! It was unconstitutional then and it’s unconstitutional now. Send them back!”
Looking to come to the U.S. illegally but don’t want to wait in line at the border? No problem, Biden/Harris are now relaunching a program to allow illegal immigrants to fly directly into the U.S. on the taxpayer’s dime.
This is insanity! It was unconstitutional then and it’s…
— Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (@RepDLesko) August 28, 2024
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is the organization who exposed the internal DHS report to the public and blew the whistle on the fraud involved.
🚨🚨FAIR uncovered an internal DHS report exposing massive fraud in the illegal Biden-Harris CHNV parole program. The explosive new report has allegedly led to the quiet pause on the CHNV program. More here: https://t.co/PngLCbRE7u
— Federation for American Immigration Reform (@FAIRImmigration) August 2, 2024
The news broke around the first of August that the program had been temporarily suspended after the massive fraud was exposed. More details below:
BREAKING: Biden admin freezes controversial migrant flight program after massive fraud exposed
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