Homeland Security confirmed that it will not offer a new period of “parole” to tens of thousands of Venezuelans who came to the country without authorization starting in 2022 — but said they may still qualify for other legal protections.
“Those who do not have pending immigration benefits or who have not been granted an immigration benefit during their two-year parole period will need to depart the United States prior to the expiration of their authorized parole period or may be placed in removal proceedings after the period of parole expires,” the department said in a statement Friday, confirming an initial report by CBS News.
The migrants came as part of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’s attempt to relieve pressure at the southern border.
He created a program in October 2022 to allow Venezuelans to enter, despite lacking a visa, as long as they pre-scheduled their arrivals and obtained someone in the U.S. who promised to financially sponsor them. The parole was good for two years.
The first of those migrants are now approaching that two-year deadline and the department said they’re not going to get a renewal.
But the announcement may have less teeth than it appears.
Those Venezuelans who entered before September 2023 are already usually eligible for Temporary Protected Status, a more forceful deportation defense that carries many of the same benefits as parole. They can also apply for asylum.
Some parolees report having been offered work permits that are valid beyond the two years of the parole, which effectively acts as another signal of legal status.
Emilio Gonzalez, who ran U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Bush administration, said despite the new announcement, the administration doesn’t want the Venezuelans to actually leave.
“I have been saying this all along,” he said. “The Biden-Harris administration’s ultimate goal is to admit as many inadmissible aliens as possible into the U.S. and then, after they are here, figure out a way to adjust their status so as to stay here permanently.”
Immigrant rights advocates were furious at the announcement.
“President Biden is turning his back on individuals who have become a fabric of their communities,” said Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition. “Without parole extensions, these individuals will face the reality of losing their legal ability to work, unable to support themselves or their families.”
Mr. Mayorkas has been expansive in his use of parole, which previously was used in rare cases such as an urgent medical situation or where U.S. authorities wanted someone to help with a criminal investigation.
The Biden administration has used it as a workaround to the legal immigration system, welcoming millions of migrants who lack legal visas.
It began with Afghans in the summer of 2021, expanded to Ukrainians after Russia’s invasion of that country, then expanded to include Venezuelans in the fall of 2022.
There are now myriad border parole programs, including one specifically for Venezuelans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Cubans; and a catch-all for migrants who schedule their arrivals at border crossings from Mexico. Mr. Mayorkas has also created an interior parole program for illegal immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens, allowing them to block deportation and get work permits.
Mr. Mayorkas has allowed Afghans and Ukrainians to renew their paroles, but the new decision means Venezuelans — and likely the Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans — will not get the same treatment.
Mr. Mayorkas says the parole programs have succeeded in taking pressure off the Border Patrol, which has seen its southern border arrest numbers plummet from a record of nearly 250,000 in December to less than 60,000 in August.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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