U.S. Republican politicians have reacted to the temporary suspension of travel permit grants for humanitarian parole to Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Haiti with a request for a permanent closure of the program.
"It needs to be permanently shut down," wrote on X the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana.
"This program should never have existed in the first place. It is just another way in which the Biden-Harris administration has welcomed hundreds of thousands of foreigners to our country, without control," he added.
"Anyone surprised? More evidence of another failed border policy from Biden and Harris. The only surprising thing is that they are admitting it," reacted Republican Senator from Mississippi, Cindy Hyde-Smith.
Even more radical in his treatment of the issue was former Florida Governor Rick Scott.
"Now we have proof that Biden and Harris were bringing illegal immigrants into our communities without even verifying who they are. The 'border czar' Harris not only failed to secure our border, she allowed massive fraud, waste, and abuse to let criminals and terrorists enter our communities," wrote Scott on X.
"This report is frightening for all Americans," concluded the Republican.
"Close the illegal CHNV parole program permanently and deport all illegal immigrants, especially those that the Biden/Harris regime has allowed to enter through this plan," wrote Eric Burlison, Republican from Missouri, on the mentioned social network.
The chairman of the House of Representatives' National Security Committee, Mark Green, a Republican from Tennessee, said that the report "vindicates every warning" ever issued regarding what he termed an "illegal program."
"It also exposes the lies of administration officials, like the now-removed DHS Secretary Mayorkas, about the quality and scope of the investigation process, not only for inadmissible foreigners seeking to enter but also for those trying to sponsor them," Green continued.
"Last year we issued a subpoena to demand the delivery of documents related to this program, and while the DHS partially complied, the department continues to fail to provide certain documents and communications related to the program," he concluded.
Republican politicians have long expressed their displeasure with the humanitarian parole program. Although a group of Republican states filed a lawsuit against the program, a district judge overturned it earlier this year.
After more than 48 hours of uncertainty and concern, on Monday a group of Cubans who had travel permission to arrive in the U.S. through humanitarian parole granted before the suspension announced on Friday were able to board their flights.
This Sunday, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that it would allow travel to that country for beneficiaries of humanitarian parole who had an approved and valid travel permit.
The authorities also added that they were working with stakeholders, including airlines and sponsors, to resolve some issues that had arisen as soon as possible.
The clarification arose after beneficiaries of the program who had flights booked with American Airlines, Southwest, and other airlines were stranded on August 3 at Cuban airports when the airlines did not allow them to board the flights.
Temporary suspension of travel permits for beneficiaries of humanitarian parole.
On August 2, the U.S. government temporarily froze travel permits for beneficiaries of the humanitarian parole program following an internal report that revealed significant levels of fraud, according to Fox News, citing a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The government source indicated that "as a precaution" they have suspended the issuance of advance travel authorizations for the program since mid-July, while they proceed to thoroughly review the requests from the sponsors, which is where the focus of fraud is placed.
CBP stopped issuing travel authorizations to Venezuelans on July 6 and to Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Haitians since July 18.
Authorities indicated that they will resume processing as soon as possible "with the appropriate safeguards," although they did not provide a probable date for the return of the travel permit concessions.
By the end of June, 106,757 Cubans had benefited from the program, and about 104,130 had already traveled to U.S. territory, according to official figures from CBP.
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