The Trump administration has initiated a suspension on all immigration applications submitted by migrants from Latin America and Ukraine who gained entry into the U.S. through specific programs established during the Biden administration, citing concerns over fraud and security, according to two U.S. officials and an internal memo obtained by CBS News.
This application freeze will be in effect indefinitely as government officials work to uncover potential fraudulent cases and improve vetting processes to address national security and public safety issues, as outlined in the directive.
The action, which has not been previously reported, casts uncertainty over many migrants who were in the midst of applying for various immigration benefits that would enable them to legally remain in the U.S., and in certain instances, achieve permanent residency.
While the precise number of affected migrants is unknown, the hold on applications is applicable to several programs established by the Biden administration that permitted hundreds of thousands of foreigners to enter the U.S. legally under an immigration statute known as parole. This law grants the U.S. government the authority to quickly admit foreigners for humanitarian or public benefit reasons.
The Biden administration utilized the parole system on an unprecedented scale, in part to encourage migrants to engage in legal migration pathways rather than illegally crossing the southern border. The Trump administration acted quickly to terminate those efforts, asserting misuse of the parole authority.
Previously, the Trump administration had halted new entries under the Biden-era parole policies. However, in a memo dated February 14, Andrew Davidson, a senior official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), mandated an agency-wide “administrative pause” on all “pending benefits requests” submitted by migrants who were already permitted entry into the U.S. via three Biden administration programs.
These programs include one titled Uniting for Ukraine, designed to provide asylum for individuals fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Approximately 240,000 Ukrainians sponsored by American citizens arrived in the U.S. through this initiative before President Trump assumed office. Another impacted program, referred to as CHNV, facilitated the entry of 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans sponsored by American citizens into the U.S.
The third program allows some Colombians, Ecuadorians, Central Americans, Haitians, and Cubans with U.S. relatives to enter the U.S. while waiting for a family-based green card to become available.
Due to the temporary work permits and deportation protections provided to those admitted under these programs, which typically last for two years, many applied for additional immigration benefits, according to lawyers and experts.
These benefits include a program known as Temporary Protected Status for migrants from countries experiencing crises like Haiti, Ukraine, and Venezuela; asylum, which grants permanent safe haven to those escaping persecution; and green cards, or permanent residency in the U.S. According to a Cold War-era law, Cubans paroled into the U.S. are eligible to apply for green cards.
However, under the internal USCIS directive, officials will be unable to process any applications for these benefits or any other aid if the requests were made by migrants who entered the U.S. under the specified Biden administration policies.
“This effectively halts their ability to transition to another legal status,” stated Lynden Melded, who was the chief counsel at USCIS during former President George W. Bush’s administration and now serves as a partner at Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. “In the meantime, they remain vulnerable to removal from the country if the government revokes their parole status.”
The USCIS memo indicated that this decision is warranted because “[c]urrently, fraud information and public safety or national security concerns are not being properly flagged in USCIS’ adjudicative systems.” The directive mentions the Biden administration’s previous decision to briefly pause the parole initiative for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans due to fraud apprehensions.
In his memo, Davidson referenced investigations that uncovered thousands of CHNV applications associated with “serial sponsors,” cases involving deceased individuals, or identical addresses. He stated that some of these cases were confirmed as fraudulent. Davidson also noted that some migrants allowed entry under CHNV “were not fully vetted.”
The pause, Davidson indicated in his memo, could be lifted eventually, but only after officials complete a “comprehensive review and evaluation of the in-country population of aliens who are or were paroled into the United States under these categorical parole programs.”
Representatives for DHS did not respond to requests for comment on CBS News’ reporting.
The Trump administration has also targeted individuals who entered the U.S. under the Biden-era immigration parole programs in other ways.
Last month, officials authorized federal immigration agents to pursue the deportation — including expedited processes in some cases — of those permitted to enter the U.S. under the CHNV program and other Biden administration parole policies. Furthermore, the administration has drafted plans to revoke the parole status of many migrants who arrived under CHNV.
