The House Oversight Committee requests Mayorkas to submit documents following the Biden administration's suspension of the migrant flight program.

The House Oversight Committee is probing the Biden administration's decision to halt a contentious program that enables migrants to fly or travel directly into the U.S., following disclosures of fraud within the program. The committee expressed its "deep concern" over the matter.

Mark Green, the House Homeland Security Committee Chairman, wrote to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, requesting documents and communications regarding the suspension of parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) following an unfulfilling briefing.

The Biden administration temporarily halted the issuance of advance travel authorizations in July for the program, which enables 30,000 nationals from those countries to legally enter the U.S. each month through the administration's use of parole since early 2023, as reported by Planet Chronicle Digital.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stopped issuing authorizations due to concerns about abuse of processes, as confirmed to Planet Chronicle Digital.

DHS has temporarily halted the issuance of advanced travel authorizations for new beneficiaries due to a review of supporter applications. A spokesperson stated that the agency will resume application processing as soon as possible, with necessary precautions.

An internal report revealed that 100,948 forms were submitted by 3,218 serial sponsors, whose number appears on 20 or more forms.

The study revealed that 24 of the 1,000 most frequently used numbers were associated with a deceased individual. Additionally, 100 physical addresses were used between 124 and 739 times on over 19,000 forms, including storage units. The investigation is centered on problems with supporter filings rather than those submitted by program beneficiaries.

The House Republicans claim that they were briefed on Aug. 5, but officials did not provide satisfactory answers to fundamental questions about the suspension of parole processing dates, fraud indicators used by the Department to screen sponsors, sponsorship threshold numbers that would trigger fraud concerns, the Department's plan for tracking upcoming parole expirations, and the current backlog of CHNV travel authorizations awaiting Department approval.

Reps. Clay Higgins, R-La., and Dan Bishop, R-N.C., say that the August 5 briefing was wholly unsatisfactory, according to the Committee.

According to reports, the documents obtained reveal that officers were directed to permit up to 10 applications to be sponsored by supporters prior to their submission for examination of fraudulent activity.

The Committee is concerned that the reduction in scrutiny of prospective sponsor applications may have allowed widespread abuse of the CHNV parole program, as reported in the Department's internal investigation.

The lawmakers are demanding an unredacted copy of the internal report, all internal communications regarding fraud within the program, documents detailing the suspension of the program, documents pertaining to the dates when authorizations were suspended, and information regarding current backlogs, as well as documents concerning fraud prevention measures for other parole programs currently in operation.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) communicates with Congress through official channels and will continue to do so in response to oversight.

The program, initially announced for Venezuelans in October 2022 and expanded to additional nationals in January 2023, has been a source of controversy among Republicans. It allows migrants to receive work permits and two years of authorization if they pass biometric and biographical checks and have a sponsor. However, the program does not facilitate flights, and migrants are responsible for their own travel.

The program has been accused by Republicans of being a misuse of parole power, which can only be exercised for critical humanitarian purposes or substantial public interest.

"Shut it down permanently," said Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., after the pause was exposed.

Prior to their arrival in the United States, CHNV beneficiaries undergo thorough screening and vetting.

"The spokesperson stated that the multi-layered screening and vetting for advanced travel authorizations is different from the screening of U.S.-based supporters. DHS has not found any issues with the screening and vetting of beneficiaries."