HIAS Concerned About Reported Biden Plan to Admit Some Venezuelans While Expanding Title 42 Expulsions

SILVER SPRING, Md – HIAS is expressing concern following numerous media reports that the Biden administration plans to grant humanitarian parole to Venezuelan refugees with sponsors in the U.S., while at the same time expanding Title 42 expulsions of other Venezuelans, along with Nicaraguans and Cubans. Up until this point, people from these countries had access to an exemption process to Title 42, a World War II-era emergency public health law that has led to some 2 million expulsions since the Trump administration invoked it in March of 2020.

“Though we are still awaiting the specifics about the administration’s plans, it’s clear to us that launching a parole program to admit some Venezuelans, while expanding the reach of Title 42 for others, will not be enough to solve the major challenges faced by people seeking protection in the United States, all of whom have a right to due process and equitable treatment at the border,” said HIAS’ Vice President of U.S. Policy and Advocacy Naomi Steinberg. “The plan as reported appears to be a half-measure that would help only a small subset of Venezuelans with sponsors in the U.S. We are also troubled that the administration is no longer even citing a public health rationale for stepping up expulsions, and instead appears to be improperly using Title 42 as an instrument to shape immigration policy.”

“With Department of Homeland Security statistics showing a sharp rise in the number of refugees from these three countries arriving at the border since last summer, we applaud the administration for endeavoring to address real problems with the U.S. asylum system. But a plan that would give preferential treatment to some asylum seekers while expelling many others is not the comprehensive fix we need.”

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