The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website is no longer accepting forms needed to sponsor migrants as part of the Biden administration’s defunct parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV).
The 2023 program, which allowed certain migrants to apply for U.S. entry and stay for up to two years, was shut down on President Donald Trump’s first day in office.
As of August 2024, nearly 530,000 people were granted parole through the program, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
A group of over 100 migrants attempting to enter the US illegally rush a border wall Thursday, March 21, 2024. In the process the migrants knock down Texas National Guardsmen before they are halted by the border wall. (James Breeden for New York Post / Mega)
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Requirements included having a U.S.-based supporter, passing security vetting, and meeting other criteria.
The “Online Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support” form, an avenue to meet one of the main requirements, was bumped from the website, as of Wednesday night.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently removed expedited removal restrictions and allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to review migrants’ parole status – which may include changing it.
After President Donald Trump ended of one of the Biden administration’s migrant programs, the website disabled a key form.
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A memo obtained by Fox News Digital noted parole is a “positive exercise of enforcement discretion to which no alien is entitled” and that it should “not be regarded as an admission of the alien,” according to previous reporting.
While the Biden administration claimed the program would expand legal pathways to citizenship and decrease illegal border crossings, Republicans contended it was an abuse of limited parole power.
An exterior view of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency headquarters is seen July 6, 2018, in Washington, DC. U.S. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Prior to Trump’s reelection, the program was temporarily paused amid fraud claims.
An internal review was ordered, leading to the DHS adding enhanced vetting measures for U.S.-based supporters in August 2024.
ICE and CBP officials have been tasked with compiling a list of instructions, policies and procedures related to parole, reviewing them, and creating a plan to phase out any that are not in accord with the statute.
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Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this story.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/u-s-immigration-website-stops-accepting-applicants-biden-program-trump-crackdown
