New immigration program offers hope to some, but trouble for asylum seekers at the border

By Daniel Zawodny

United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced on Jan. 9 a new process for nationals of Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti and their immediate family members to request permission to come to the United States with temporary humanitarian parole as long as they have economic assistance from a U.S. based supporter.

The program is an expansion of one for Venezuelan nationals that began in October of 2022, and will now cover individuals from the four countries with the highest numbers of recent arrivals to the U.S. southern border who hope to request asylum.

President Biden also announced a diplomatic agreement with Mexico that will allow the United States to expel migrants from these four countries back across the border to Mexico. Before, the U.S. could only do so with migrants from Mexico and certain Central American countries under the controversial Trump-era Title 42 law. The agreement with Mexico marks what immigrant advocates are calling another border crackdown that will put asylum seekers’ lives at further risk.

Individuals from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela who wish to apply for the parole program must first have a U.S. citizen or documented immigrant apply to sponsor them, a process that requires a background check and proof of financial security. The individual does not have to apply from their home country, but cannot already be in the United States or have made unauthorized crossings of the Panama-Colombia or Mexico-Guatemala borders after the date of announcement for the program. That means that Venezuelans who crossed either of those borders after Oct. 19, 2022 or Nicaraguans, Cubans and Haitians who crossed after Jan. 9 are ineligible.

“The U.S. is trying to pressure people not to travel and to use this new avenue,” said Brian Strassburger, a Jesuit priest who lives in Brownsville, Texas and works with migrants and asylum seekers along the border. He takes issue with the new parole program and thinks that it will only benefit people with substantial means.

“It’s not ‘bring me your poor huddled masses’, it’s ‘bring me your people who have connections’,” he said.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy director for the American Immigration Council notes that the new program is modeled after USCIS’ “Uniting for Ukraine” initiative which he says admitted roughly 85,000 Ukrainians into the U.S. between the program’s kickoff in April and November. In its diplomatic agreement with Mexico, the U.S. promised to receive up to 30,000 parolees from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela per month.

“I’m skeptical they will reach that number…but on the other hand, it is still a lot quicker than other processes,” explained Reichlin-Melnick. He notes that many different kinds of petitions through USCIS have suffered from severe backlogs for years.

Roughly 11,000 Venezuelan nationals have already entered the U.S. through the program since it began in October, according to a recent press release from Mexico’s government.

“For many it will be an easy decision—walk through the Darien Gap, walk for 4 months…or apply online. It could be a lifeline,” said Reichlin-Melnick.

“It’s a carrot and a stick”

Though this new program could be a lifeline to some, many immigrant advocates including Strassburger and Reichlin-Melnick lament how the new agreement with Mexico is pushing thousands of asylum seekers at the southern border into further limbo and danger.

The U.S. cannot expel migrants from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela to Mexico under Title 42—since its implementation under the Trump administration, the U.S. has had to either remove them directly to their countries of origin or allow them to remain in the U.S.

Beyond the logistical limitations with carrying out these expulsions, Reichlin-Melnick points out that the U.S. has essentially no diplomatic relationship with

Nicaragua, Cuba or Venezuela. “You can’t [remove] someone whose country will not accept them,” he said.

Strassburger says that the results along the border have already been disastrous. In Matamoros, migrant shelters are beyond full, and a new encampment of close to 5,000 Venezuelans has popped up despite the Mexican government’s history of clearing such camps.

“In the first days of the program, there were busloads of people expelled back to Mexico who had no idea why they were being expelled,” said Strassburger. Volunteer lawyers and community activists committed themselves to journeying into Mexico to explain the new law and program to people.

Reichlin-Melnick notes that the majority of those who have arrived at the border will not end up qualifying for the new parole program.

“The hammer that’s coming down is on the migrants who are already in transit—those who already sold their possessions and made their way to the border,” said Reichlin-Melnick. “This will make seeking asylum more difficult…this will lead some people into more desperate straits.”

If you believe a friend or family member may qualify for this new USCIS program and you’d like to be their sponsor, contact a licensed immigration attorney to evaluate your case.

Baltimore City y Baltimore County anuncian NUEVO GRUPO DE TRABAJO REGIONAL PARA ADMINISTRACION DEL AGUA Y AGUAS RESIDUALES

El alcalde de Baltimore, Brandon M. Scott, y el ejecutivo del condado de Baltimore, Johnny Olszewski, en unión con la senadora estatal Jill P. Carter, senador estatal Charles Sydnor, delegada Stephanie Smith y delegado Eric Ebersole anunciaron la legislación estatal para crear un grupo de trabajo sobre agua y aguas residuales regionales.

Este nuevo grupo de trabajo se encargaría de hacer recomendaciones para modernizar la gobernanza de los servicios públicos de agua y aguas residuales de la región, que actualmente operan bajo acuerdos de medio siglo de antigüedad, para ayudar a garantizar que los residentes reciban servicios de agua y alcantarillado de alta calidad de manera eficiente, equitativa y sostenible.

Actualmente, los residentes de la ciudad de Baltimore y del condado de Baltimore cuentan con sistemas de agua y aguas residuales administrados por el Departamento de Obras Públicas de la ciudad de Baltimore. Según un acuerdo que data de 1972, la ciudad de Baltimore factura a todos los clientes por el uso del agua.

De acuerdo con el acuerdo que rige el sistema de alcantarillado compartido, cada jurisdicción factura a sus propios residentes por los cargos de alcantarillado y otros cargos relacionados.

Según la ley estatal existente, la ciudad de Baltimore es la única responsable del suministro de agua y las operaciones de aguas residuales, el mantenimiento y las inversiones de capital, mientras que el condado de Baltimore es la única jurisdicción circundante que paga una parte proporcional de estos costos.

De acuerdo con la legislación propuesta, el Grupo de Trabajo Regional de Agua y Aguas Residuales presentaría sus recomendaciones finales al Gobernador, al Presidente de la Cámara, al Presidente del Senado, al Alcalde de la Ciudad de

Baltimore y al Ejecutivo del Condado de Baltimore para enero de 2024.