The Biden administration is introducing a new immigration scheme to bring some Central Americans and Colombians to the United States in legal status, instead of at the illegal border.
Under the Family Reunification Parole Process, migrants from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras will be allowed to enter the United States under the new law if they have relatives who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. These qualified migrants will be given work permits to temporarily live and work in the U.S. while their immigration application processes.
How is the Process of Family Reunification Parole?
The new program caters to immigrants-broken-families. You can apply to come to the US to work if you’re from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras, and you have family members who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Passengers who meet eligibility will be able to fly to the US instead of crossing the border at risk and illegally.
The migrant must have a relative who is a U.S. citizen or green card holder and already submitted a family visa petition for them. The program will be available to the adult children of U.S. citizens, siblings of U.S. citizens, and spouses and children of green card holders primarily. The new system would address the long waits and backlogs in the family-based visa system through a smoother, more effective means of family reunification.
Who is Qualified for the Family Reunification Parole Program?
- Participating Countries: Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
- Spouses/Children: U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents can sponsor their adult children, siblings, and spouses/children.
- Visa Petition Requirement: A family member in the United States should have already submitted a visa petition for a person in a foreign country.
According to DHS, more than 70,000 people could be eligible for this program right now. The Biden administration reportedly plans to take in up to 100,000 migrants under this new program, but no one knows the timeline for that.
Why Is This Program Important?
The Family Reunification Parole Process is part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to reduce congestion at the U.S.-Mexico border by providing an alternative to illegal crossing. This new program will eliminate the number of migrants who cross dangerous borders by allowing them to take legal routes into the U.S.
On top of this program, the Biden administration also established a humanitarian parole scheme for Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan migrants. It is a program through which individuals who qualify can receive U.S. travel authorization without having to go abroad.
Impact on Border Crossings
The Biden administration has also cited these new parole programs as reducing illegal border crossings. With the expiration of the Title 42 policy in May (a pandemic rule that allowed migrants to be quickly expelled), the amount of illegal crossings on the border has decreased every day. The total number of illegal crossings, more than 10,000 per day before Title 42 expired, now numbers less than 4,000 daily.
By increasing legal migration routes, the United States wants to reduce the pressure on the border and help migrants reunite with their families safely and securely.
This new Family Reunification Parole Process is an important part of the Biden administration’s larger immigration plan. It is a more humane and legal replacement for lethal border crossings and allows families to be returned to one another faster. Now that the new program has been put in place, many migrants will be able to legally work in the U.S. while they await permanent residency or other immigration outcomes.
In light of the ongoing battles at the border, initiatives such as this show that the United States is determined to reform immigration and make entry into the country safer and more organized.
