Biden-Harris’ reckless restart of a fraud-ridden immigration program

At the end of August, the Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) restarted a messy immigration program it had paused a month earlier due to fraud concerns.

An internal DHS report found in mid-July that the CHNV (Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans) parole program was overrun with fraud. 

The program allows up to 30,000 nationals from those four countries to enter the United States each month if sponsored by a person or entity inside the country. But DHS discovered that thousands of the sponsors for these migrants had listed fake Social Security numbers, home addresses or phone numbers.

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on stage at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundations Phoenix Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

According to the report, over 100,000 sponsor application forms were filled out by just 3,218 sponsors. The same credentials were used over and over – hundreds of times in some cases. Twenty-four of the 1,000 most used numbers on sponsor application forms belonged to a dead person. Almost 3,000 forms used non-existent sponsor ZIP codes.

BIDEN-HARRIS SPURNED OFFERS FROM LATIN AMERICAN LEADERS TO HELP CLOSE THE BORDER

Despite overwhelming amounts of fraud, DHS resumed the CHNV program just weeks after pausing it, claiming that there are now additional vetting processes in place. But the fraud is only a symptom of a larger issue. Even if the agency really did tighten up its application process, the program itself is fundamentally flawed.

A presidential administration has the authority to allow foreign nationals into our country temporarily while they wait for formal admission into the United States, a process known as parole. This authority is intended to be used in select cases, such as for urgent humanitarian reasons. 

But the Biden-Harris administration has abused this authority to make unilateral immigration decisions behind Congress’ back.

AURORA’S VIOLENT GANG PROBLEM DIDN’T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT

The CHNV program is a prime example of parole abuse. Without congressional approval, it’s allowed approximately half a million foreign nationals into our country, on top of our already skyrocketing numbers of migrant encounters at the border. 

And though the parole is intended to be temporary, the Biden-Harris administration is determined to ensure that parolees stay in the country. Parolees know that if they get in through the CHNV program, they get into our country for good.

This program is a stain on our national security. If the sponsor applications are riddled with fraud and the administration doesn’t bother to keep track of the admitted foreign nationals, you can be sure that the initial parolee vetting process isn’t neat and clean. 

CATS AND DOGS ASIDE, BIDEN-HARRIS UNLEASHED DISASTER ON SPRINGFIELD

Throughout the Biden-Harris administration, encounters at the border with people on the terrorist watchlist have steadily climbed. We know bad actors are taking advantage of this administration’s disastrous immigration policy, and this parole program plagued by fraud is unlikely to be an exception.

The CHNV program raises humanitarian concerns as well. Instead of using case-by-case parole, as Congress intended, the Biden-Harris parole system is bloated by requests from anyone who wants a ticket into our country. That means that people with urgent and extreme humanitarian needs can’t sift their way through the system. 

WITHOUT A BORDER, IMMIGRANT CRIME CAN HIT EVERYWHERE

My office recently dealt with two cases involving children with leukemia who were unable to use parole for emergency medical situations, consistent with the intended purpose of parole. They couldn’t use parole because the system is flooded by foreign nationals who don’t truly need it, and the Biden-Harris administration is failing to prioritize urgent cases.

The reckless restart of the CHNV program will harm everyone involved – it’s not the idealistic pro-immigrant solution the administration sells it as. I joined Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, recently in sending a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calling for an end to the program. We explained how the program violates congressional intent, invites fraud through its inadequate vetting system, and poses national security risks.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

In response, the Biden-Harris administration must go above and beyond canceling this faulty program. President Biden and "Border Czar" Harris must take action to fix the border and immigration crisis they’ve created – including by stopping their unlawful abuse of parole. 

Until then, the numbers of illegal border crossings, terrorist watch list encounters and immigration disasters will continue ticking up and up.

Deb Fischer, a Republican. represents Nebraska in the U.S. Senate.