If you thought the Biden-Harris Administration’s handling of the southern border couldn’t get worse, the latest revelations might make you reconsider. A new House Judiciary report has uncovered a stunning loophole allowing illegal immigrants with records of violent crimes, including sex trafficking, to enter the United States. Thanks to a so-called “categorical parole” program for nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV), tens of thousands of illegal immigrants have bypassed traditional border crossings each month. Instead, they are flown directly into domestic airports, a scheme the administration labels as “legal pathways”—though critics argue it’s anything but legal, given Congress never approved it.
Under this program, illegal immigrants are flown into the U.S. on commercial flights and granted parole for up to two years by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). By September 2024, over 531,000 individuals from these four nations had entered the country using this backdoor method. This program isn’t just a workaround; it’s a deliberate effort to mask the severity of the border crisis. By funneling illegal immigrants through airports instead of the southern border, the administration conveniently avoids counting these entries in Border Patrol’s encounter statistics, artificially lowering the reported numbers.
The program’s mechanics are as dubious as its intent. To qualify, a CHNV sponsor must file a financial support form with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), pledging to support the immigrant for the duration of their parole. Once the paperwork clears, the immigrant arrives at a U.S. airport, where DHS grants them parole. From there, they can apply for a work permit and settle into the country. The House Judiciary report, however, accuses the Biden administration of using this program to commit “fraud,” undermine national security, and jeopardize public safety—all to ensure that hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants can bypass standard immigration protocols.
The most alarming findings relate to how sex traffickers have allegedly exploited this program. According to the report, CHNV applications from the same IP addresses raised red flags, with many linked to female immigrants. This pattern suggests traffickers may be using the program to bring women and girls into the U.S. under false pretenses, putting them at risk of exploitation. Another separate report revealed that individuals involved in criminal activities, including welfare recipients, have been approved as sponsors for CHNV parolees, further highlighting the program’s vulnerabilities.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas introduced this system in 2021, but it has since become a breeding ground for fraud and abuse. Critics argue that the CHNV program not only undermines the rule of law but also poses serious risks to national security and public safety. Far from providing “legal pathways,” the program has opened the floodgates for bad actors to exploit loopholes, all while the administration looks the other way. As these findings come to light, the question remains: how much longer can this broken system persist before it puts even more Americans at risk?
