Biden will expand the 'parole' of family reunification for migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia

The Department of Homeland Security announced this Thursday the expansion of the family reunification

program for people from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia, and the "modernization" of the existing one for Cuba and Haiti.

system

that allows the entry of 30,000 people per month from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti, launched in recent months.

The extension of the family reunification

program announced this Thursday will allow people who, after a case-by-case examination, are granted this temporary permit, which will also include a work permit, to travel to the country.

The Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, reported this Thursday at a press conference that the changes in the

process will include the expulsion not only of migrants who cross the southern border irregularly, but also of those who try to arrive by Seaway.

"We have seen too many people, families, women, children lose their lives in rough seas. Therefore, we have increased the presence of our Coast Guard to interdict migrants trying to reach the United States by sea," he said.

Authorities will announce more details about how the extension of the humanitarian

program will work on May 11.

A migrant caravan in Chiapas says new US measures won't stop them

April 27, 202301:19

How the

extended humanitarian

parole works

The expanded humanitarian

program was launched in October 2022 for Venezuelan migrants and was later expanded to Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti.

It offers 30,000 permits per country each month to migrants with a sponsor in the United States, to travel by plane and obtain residence and work permits for two years.

In contrast, all migrants from those countries who arrived at the border began to be returned expressly without the right to asylum under Title 42. Immigration authorities have not explained how the end of this measure on May 11 will affect

advanced humanitarian law, saying only that it will remain in force but without explaining whether those who do not take advantage of it will be returned at the border without the right to asylum even though Title 42 has already ended.

Mayorkas stressed on Thursday that with the near end of Title 42, "all immigrants will be processed under Title 8" and that said rule establishes severe penalties for those who cross illegally, including a five-year ban on re-entering the country and potential jail terms for repeat offenders.

"Let me be clear, our border is not open and neither will it be after May 11,"

Mayorkas said.

In order to qualify for the

program , it is necessary for a sponsor (it can be a family member or a civil or religious organization) to request the admission of "a person who is outside the United States and seeks to obtain temporary residence permission."

That has led to numerous allegations of fraud by people looking for a sponsor in exchange for payment of a sum, which can range from $8,000 to $10,000.

Sponsors must provide financial support to petitioners for at least two years.

I entered with 60 day Parole and they gave me an I-94 for one year.

Can I apply for a work permit?

April 13, 202300:51

The immigration authorities stressed that this program, which was announced when the Government was facing historic numbers at the border, caused the arrival of migrants from those countries to decrease drastically since it came into effect.

In February, 22,755 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans arrived in the country with this humanitarian permit, almost twice as many as in January, according to data from the Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP).

So far, the policy has led to a 97% drop in illegal border crossings by migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, according to authorities.

How the humanitarian

parole

of Cuba works

Program

, launched in 2007, allows eligible US citizens and permanent residents to request permission to bring relatives from the island without having to wait for an immigration visa, while it also grants them a work permit in the United States.

It differs from the new advanced

program in two fundamental ways.

On the one hand, it requires the approval of an immigrant visa petition presented by a relative in the United States;

and on the other hand, because

USCIS notes that the new

process "does not require that the beneficiary have an approved immigrant visa petition or a qualifying family member in the United States.

Two Cuban migrants arrive in the United States on a motorized hang glider

March 25, 202300:17

And on the other hand, the

program for Cuba differs from the new

in that the former allowed the reception of immigrants regardless of whether they had entered the country irregularly, but the new program aims to prevent these illegal entries.

program

for Cuba, [migrants] could enter the United States even if they arrived irregularly: they were released and then they could adjust their immigration status,” explained Alma Rosa Nieto, a lawyer specializing in immigration in a telephone interview with Noticias Telemundo.

“The new

is not as broad as the program for Cuba.

," added the specialist.

In any case, these are processes that can be complemented, since a person from Cuba can request either of the two benefits at the same time to emigrate to the United States, according to USCIS.