Westmoreland Review

Chief Deputy Whip Guy Reschenthaler and U.S. Representative Chip Roy have called for the termination of the Biden-Harris Administration's mass parole program for nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV). The two representatives were joined by 25 members in their letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

In their communication, the lawmakers stated: “We call on the administration to end the unlawful, fraud-filled CHNV program and curtail TPS and other immigration relief provided to aliens paroled through CHNV. Without doing so, the Biden-Harris Administration’s immigration policies will continue to place significant burdens on communities across our nation.”

Since January 2023, approximately 530,000 inadmissible aliens have entered the United States through this program. This influx has reportedly placed financial stress on communities nationwide, including Charleroi, Pennsylvania — represented by Reschenthaler. In response to these concerns, 25 Republican governors recently wrote to the Administration seeking information about what they describe as a misguided immigration program and its impacts on local communities.

The Department of Homeland Security temporarily suspended the CHNV program in July 2024 due to reports of widespread fraud. An internal report revealed that personal information from sponsors was used multiple times across different applications. Specifically, 100,948 forms were submitted by 3,218 serial sponsors. Additionally, it was found that some contact numbers belonged to deceased individuals and certain addresses were used extensively across thousands of forms.

Federal law under the Immigration and Nationality Act allows presidential authority for parole but limits it to temporary cases with significant public benefit or urgent humanitarian reasons. According to critics like Reschenthaler and Roy, the CHNV program exceeds this authorized parole authority.