
A group of migrants from Venezuela pause along the border wall looking for a place to cross from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, into the United States last Sept. Michael Robinson Chávez/The Washington Post
The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that it has restarted a program that allows 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter the United States legally by submitting an application through a U.S.-based sponsor.
The federal government suspended those entries in June after internal reviews detected signs of sponsors profiting from the applications, supplying fake addresses and engaging in other acts of potential fraud. Investigators found “serial sponsors” providing applications for multiple people, according to excerpts of the report reviewed by The Washington Post. Some used the Social Security numbers of deceased individuals.
In a statement, DHS said it has increased scrutiny of sponsors’ financial records and criminal background checks, while enhancing measures to detect fraud and crack down on serial filings. The department will also require sponsors to provide fingerprints, the statement said.
“Together with our existing rigorous vetting of potential beneficiaries seeking to travel to the United States, these new procedures for supporters have strengthened the integrity of these processes and will help protect against exploitation of beneficiaries,” the statement read. “DHS is committed to holding accountable individuals who commit fraud or attempt to exploit others for gain.”
More than 500,000 migrants from the four countries have been approved for travel to the United States under the program since it began for Venezuelans in 2022, according to DHS data. The other three nations were added at the start of 2023.
Illegal crossings along the southern border by migrants from the four nations have declined 98 percent since December 2022, according to DHS data.
The initiative relies on an immigration authority known as “parole” that allows the executive branch to admit migrants who do not otherwise qualify for a visa. Biden officials say it has been a crucial tool, giving migrants from the four countries a lawful alternative to hiring a smuggler and attempting a risky crossing.
Migrants are allowed to enter through commercial flights to U.S. airports, but the government does not pay for the travel. Those admitted are granted permission to stay and work for up to two years, during which time they can apply for asylum or another path to U.S. residency.
Republican officials from 21 states sued the Biden administration in 2023 seeking to halt the program, saying they were burdened by the costs associated with the new arrivals. A federal judge in Texas rejected their lawsuit in March, noting the program had curbed illegal crossings. The decision is under appeal.
The DHS investigators defined a serial sponsor as someone whose social security number appeared on 20 or more applications.
In a database of more than 2.6 million applications, the reviewers detected about 100,000 possibly associated with serial sponsors, according to the report excerpts reviewed by The Post. The investigation included filings from a separate program for Ukrainian refugees.
More than 900 sponsors used the social security numbers of deceased individuals, the investigators found. It was unclear how many of the applicants who have already reached the United States used the serial sponsors or other fraudulent methods.
DHS officials said the issues of concern that triggered the program’s suspension related to the screening of the U.S.-based sponsors, not the migrants seeking approval for travel, who are subject to more rigorous vetting.
The department said most of the possible fraud cases it detected had a reasonable explanation. But official pledged to continue to review applications and refer violators for possible criminal investigation.
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