As soon as President Biden took office in January 2021, his administration was overwhelmed by a crisis it admittedly had not done enough to prepare for: unprecedented numbers of migrants coming over the southern border.
But the people pouring in now were not from the usual source countries, like Honduras. Most were fleeing Venezuela 鈥� home to the worst humanitarian disaster in modern South American history and to one the continent鈥檚 most brutal authoritarian regimes. These Venezuelans were making an especially dangerous trek: enroute to the U.S., most passed through the often deadly Dari茅n Gap jungle between Colombia and Panama.
After almost two years of hand-wringing 鈥� and watching the immigration issue drag down Biden鈥檚 approval ratings 鈥� the administration came up with a way to alleviate the border crush: a humanitarian parole program, modeled on a similar project for Ukrainian refugees, to let desperate would-be migrants like Venezuelans come to temporarily live and work in the U.S. for two years.
After months of reporting, 港澳天下彩has found that the program has been hampered by bureaucratic problems that undermine its success: Demand is higher than the Biden administration had anticipated. It's difficult if not impossible for some migrants to find sponsors and get passports. Work permits are taking months to secure. 鈥淭he program is the best hope we鈥檝e had in years," one Venezuelan told WLRN. "But the waiting hurts."
Political analysts argue the program better work 鈥� and it better survive a federal court challenge 鈥� or it could prove to be a "disaster" for President Biden's border policy. In our series Waiting for America, we spend time with the people caught in the middle of it all.
-
港澳天下彩News' series 鈥淲aiting for America鈥� examines the successes and failures of President Biden鈥檚 key immigration policy. -
Amaury Pacheco's work in the Cuban independent arts scene put him in the crosshairs of the Communist government. Now, he's building a new life in Miami under the Biden administration's historic humanitarian parole program. -
Haitians are facing long wait times and extortion as they try to obtain passports so they can apply for the Biden administration humanitarian parole program. Their loved ones here in South Florida are victims, too. -
To overcome the challenges Nicaraguans face in accessing the Biden administration's humanitarian parole program, a U.S. network of grassroots volunteers has emerged, including here in South Florida. -
Ukrainians and Afghans who receive humanitarian parole can work the moment they arrive in the U.S. For Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, the wait to legally work can take many months. -
Venezuelans were the first to receive Biden's humanitarian parole 鈥� and while some call it a "miracle" ticket out of their crisis, others say they've grown impatient waiting for it.
-
Resources in English, en 别蝉辫补帽辞濒 and an krey貌l ayisyen. -
The parole program allows 30,000 migrants per month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter the U.S., remain for two years and secure a work permit. -
Announcing a new 港澳天下彩News series, evaluating a key plank of the Biden administration's immigration agenda 鈥� one year later.
