The Biden administration is reopening an updated version of the migrant sponsorship program pause suddenly earlier this summer because of concerns about fraud, Department of Homeland Security officials said Friday.
First created in late 2022 and expanded in early 2023 as a way to divert migrants from the US-Mexico border, the initiative allows up to 30,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to fly to the US each month if US-sponsored based on success application to support people.
That program, coupled with Mexico’s move to take back citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who crossed into the U.S. illegally, led to a dramatic drop in illegal crossings by migrants from those four countries. But the policy was frozen in July after officials became concerned that some would be sponsors filing fraudulent applications.
After a few weeks of hiatus, the Department of Homeland Security restarted the program with a better screening process for those applying to sponsor migrants under the policy. The government now requires those who want to sponsor migrants to submit their fingerprints for a vetting process. Officials also plan to review the financial and criminal records of prospective sponsors, and increase oversight of repeat sponsors.
“With this updated procedure, DHS continues to issue new Advance Travel Authorizations and will closely monitor how this new process progresses,” Homeland Security spokeswoman Naree Ketudat said in a statement.
Sponsors must be US citizens or permanent residents, or have other legal immigration status. Fraud concerns about the program focus on sponsors, not migrants, who also undergo security checks before being allowed to travel to the US.
DHS officials said a preliminary investigation into possible fraud in the program found that the vast majority of cases of concern had “reasonable explanations,” including filing errors. But officials said the review uncovered several cases involving fraud, including prospective sponsors using fraudulent Social Security numbers. Some applicants have been referred to law enforcement for further investigation and potential prosecution, officials said.
Known as CHNV after the initials of the four nationals eligible for the initiative, the policy is a pillar of the Biden administration’s strategy to reduce migrant crossings at the US-Mexico border, which has risen to record highs in recent years. So far, more than half a million migrants have arrived in the US under the policy, according to government data.
The administration has created several avenues for migrants to enter the U.S. legally, including through an app that distributes entry appointments to those waiting in Mexico, while increasing fines for those who cross the southern border illegally. Most recently, President Biden effectively shut down access to the U.S. asylum system among legal border entry points, a move that officials credited for nearly everything. 4 years less in illegal crossing this summer.
The CHNV policy allows Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans with American sponsors to fly to the US, where they can apply for temporary work permits under the immigration parole law, which allows the president to accept foreigners for humanitarian or public interest reasons.
The Biden administration said the policy was justified on humanitarian grounds because of the economic crisis and political unrest in the four countries. It also supports archival programs of public interest by reducing illegal immigration by migrants from these countries by providing legal alternatives to come to the US.
Republican-led state officials have called the CHNV policy illegal, arguing in a lawsuit that the program bypasses Congress-imposed limits on legal immigration. But a federal judge in Texas earlier this year rejected legal challenge, concluding that GOP-led states have failed to show they have been harmed by the program.
Camilo Montoya-Galvez
