WASHINGTON —
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed on Friday that Voice of America the temporary suspension of the issuance of travel authorizations for new beneficiaries of the humanitarian parole program aimed at Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians.
“Out of an abundance of caution, DHS has temporarily suspended the issuance of advance travel authorizations for new beneficiaries while it conducts a review of requests for support,” they noted.
Officials said the suspension was due to concerns about fraud cases that led to the need for a review of applications in the program.
“DHS has review mechanisms in place to detect and prevent fraud and abuse in our immigration processes. DHS takes any abuse of its processes very seriously,” a spokesperson told the VOA.
When fraud is identified, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is tasked with investigating and litigating the appropriate cases, as well as referring criminal cases to the Department of Justice.
DHS said it would resume processing applications “as soon as possible, with appropriate safeguards.” However, no exact date was given.
In January 2023, the U.S. government expanded the humanitarian parole program to all four citizenships as a way to provide legal avenues for migration, according to officials.
As of June of this year, some 494,799 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans had entered the US under this program.
“All CHNV beneficiaries currently in the United States have been thoroughly screened and vetted,” DHS said.
Officials concluded that those who are discovered entering the country with “what indicates a potential national security or public safety concern, DHS and our federal partners investigate and take appropriate action consistent with the mission of protecting the country.”
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