FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 5, 2023
Contact: Erin Taylor | etaylor@lirs.org
WASHINGTON D.C. – President Biden today announced a new plan to offer humanitarian parole to up to 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, while also expanding Title 42 expulsions of those who cross the US southern border.The parole program is modeled after one opened to Venezuelans in October and to Ukrainians last spring. Each applicant requires a sponsor in the U.S. to initiate the process and commit to providing financial support. Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans were previously allowed to seek asylum at the southern border. Under the new plan, they would be immediately expelled to Mexico.
Since its implementation in March 2020, Title 42 has resulted in expulsions from the U.S. without due process. More than 13,000 instances of kidnapping, torture, rape, and other violent attacks on people blocked in or expelled to Mexico due to the policy have been documented during the Biden administration.
In response to the announcement, Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service said:
“With humanitarian crises in Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua growing more dire, creating new pathways of protection is vital. But limited access to humanitarian parole cannot be a replacement for asylum protections guaranteed in U.S. and international law. It will provide only temporary protection to a small subset of the millions of people forced to flee their homes.
Far more concerning is the expansion of Title 42 expulsions that will now apply to more people seeking to exercise their legal right to seek asylum. The administration committed to ending Title 42. Today’s announcement triples down by expanding a dangerous anti-immigration policy the President promised to terminate.”
As President Biden prepares to attend the North American Leaders Summit, the global displacement crisis must be on the agenda. Regardless of nationality, everyone should be able to access a fair, orderly, and humane immigration system.”
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and our partners remain fully committed to helping those seeking protection. The LIRS asylum services network helps individuals and families released from immigration detention by providing short-term shelter, hot meals and showers, Know Your Rights orientation, and travel coordination. Through its Welcome Center programming, LIRS and its partners also connect families to community and social services, legal assistance, education, and healthcare, empowering them to achieve greater stability and well-being in their new communities.