U.S. pauses immigration applications for certain migrants welcomed under Biden
All immigration applications filed by the Trump administration for immigrants in Latin America and Ukraine have suspended fraud and security issues and cited fraud and security issues, according to an internal memo obtained by two U.S. officials and CBS News.
The directive said the application would be frozen indefinitely, while government officials worked to identify potential fraud cases and strengthen review procedures to mitigate issues related to national security and public safety.
The move has not been reported before, threatening to create uncertainty for many immigrants who are applying for various immigration benefits that will allow them to remain legally in the United States, in some cases permanent.
While the exact number of immigrants affected is unclear, the claim hold applies to several Biden administration programs that allow hundreds of thousands of foreigners to come to the United States legally through an immigration law called parole law. The law has enabled the U.S. government to quickly welcome foreigners on the grounds of humanitarian or public interest.
The Biden administration uses parole on an unprecedented scale, in part to encourage immigrants to sign up for legal immigration channels rather than illegally crossing the southern border. The Trump administration has acted quickly to halt these efforts, believing they have abused parole power.
The Trump administration has stop New entry under the Biden-era parole policy. But in a February 14 memorandum, Andrew Davidson, the top U.S. citizenship and immigration services official, ordered all “pending” to file immigrants that have been allowed to be filed with the U.S. under three Biden management plans. Request for Interest”, order “administrative suspension” within the entire scope.
These include a policy called Ukraine Solidarity, providing a safe haven for those fleeing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Before President Trump took office, about 240,000 Ukrainians arrived in the United States in the process. Another affected program known as CHNV allows 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans sponsored by U.S. citizens to enter the United States
The third affected plan includes allowing some Colombians, Ecuadorians, Central American, Haitians and Cubans and American relatives to come to the United States to wait for the family-based green card opportunity.
Lawyers and experts say that since those allowed to enter the United States under these plans only have temporary work permits and deportation protection, which usually lasts for two years, many people have applied for other immigration benefits.
These benefits include a program called Temporary Protection, which comes from immigration to crisis countries such as Haiti, Ukraine and Venezuela; shelters, where those who flee persecution can obtain permanent havens in the United States; and green cards or permanent residence in the United States. Due to a Cold War-era law, Cubans were paroled to the United States to qualify for a green card.
However, under the internal USCIS directive, officials will no longer be able to process any application or any other benefits for those programs if an immigration filed under targeted Biden administration policies is filed.
“This effectively freezes their ability to enter another legal position,” said Lynden, who served as the top U.S. Citizen Immigration Service during his administration by former President George W. Bush. Attorney, now a partner at Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. “During this time, if the government terminates parole status, they will still be easily evacuated from the country.”
The U.S. Citizenship and Services memo said the move makes sense because “(c) fraudulent information and public safety or national security issues are not correctly marked in the USCIS ruling system.” The directive cites the Biden administration’s last year’s The move temporarily suspended parole initiatives targeting Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans due to fraud issues.
Davidson mentioned the investigation in the memo, saying that thousands of CHNV applications were found, including information from deceased individuals or the same address. Some of these cases proved to be fraud, he said. Davidson also said some immigrants allowed to enter the United States under CHNV “have not been fully reviewed.”
Davidson said in his memo that the pause could be cancelled, but only officials completed “a comprehensive review and assessment and assessment of the foreign population under these classified parole programs or being paroled to the U.S..”
Representatives of the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests to comment on CBS News’ report.
The Trump administration has also come to the U.S. goal in other ways with Biden-era immigration parole program.
Last month, officials Authorization Federal immigration agents seek deportation (including in some cases in an accelerated manner) where access to the U.S. under the CHNV program and other Biden administration parole policies are allowed. The government also drafted a plan Revoke Many people who come down to the United States for parole status in CHNV.
