The Biden administration has announced the resumption of its immigration program, which facilitates the entry of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela into the United States.
This restart follows an earlier suspension prompted by concerns over potential fraud involving U.S.-based financial sponsors.
The program, initially launched in January 2023, is a cornerstone of the administration’s broader immigration strategy, designed to create lawful pathways for entry while restricting illegal border crossings.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had briefly halted the program to address allegations of sponsor fraud. However, an internal review concluded that while some instances of fraud were identified, widespread misconduct was not evident. In response, DHS is implementing enhanced vetting procedures to bolster the integrity of the sponsorship process.
“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,” DHS stated.
The updated procedures will include more stringent scrutiny of financial records and criminal backgrounds of U.S.-based sponsors.
This will involve fingerprinting and additional measures to identify fraudulent activities and monitor multiple applications from single sponsors.
Under the program, up to 30,000 individuals per month from the four targeted countries are eligible for U.S. entry over a two-year period.
These migrants must secure a financial sponsor in the U.S. and cover their own travel expenses, rather than crossing at the southern border. The program provides eligibility for work authorization and mandates thorough vetting of both sponsors and migrants.
The resumption of the program has faced criticism from Republican lawmakers who argue that it circumvents existing immigration laws and lacks adequate safeguards. Rep. Mark Green, Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, expressed concerns that the program continues despite unresolved issues of fraud.
“Instead of scrapping the clearly flawed program, the department is allowing it to continue without rooting out the fraud or putting adequate safeguards in place to prevent exploitation by sponsors here in the United States,” said Green. “Fundamentally, there would be no fraud to prevent if DHS simply stopped importing 30,000 inadmissible aliens every month in the first place.”
DHS defended the program, noting that an internal review found only a small number of supporters involved in fraudulent activities and that the majority of discrepancies were due to minor errors.
The department emphasized that migrants entering the U.S. under this program have been thoroughly screened and vetted.
Since its inception, the program has facilitated the arrival of over 520,000 individuals from the four countries, contributing to a significant reduction in illegal crossings.
For instance, arrests of Cubans have dropped from over 42,000 in November 2022 to 5,065 in the first half of 2024, and arrests of Haitians have similarly decreased.
The resumption of this program, with its enhanced safeguards, reflects ongoing efforts by the Biden administration to balance humanitarian concerns with the need for stringent immigration controls.
