President Joe Biden’s migrant parole program issued in January, meant to welcome a limited number of immigrants coming from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua or Haiti, is encountering fraudsters who are taking advantage of hopeful applicants, according to NBC News.
The parole program aims to welcome at least 30,000 migrants per month from each of those nations; qualifying applicants who possess proper documentation seek a sponsor in the U.S., usually a relative, willing to pay for financial support for at least two years. However, many desperate applicants look on social media for a sponsor, where scams occur. (RELATED: ‘We’re Left To Be On Our Own’: Texas County Sheriff Rips Biden Administration’s Handling Of Border Crisis)
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 24: Ken Cuccinelli, senior official performing the duties of the Deputy Homeland Security Secretary, testifies before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on “Threats to the Homeland” on Capitol Hill on September 24, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Joshua Roberts-Pool/Getty Images)
The scams happen primarily through social media, with advertisements making fraudulent sponsorship offers for $8,000 to $10,000, according to NBC News. The “sponsors” reach desperate applicants on Instagram or Facebook with the promise of offering proper help to live in the U.S., and once the transfer is completed, “sponsors'” accounts disappear.
Social media is the last resource for many applicants who don’t know who to ask for help, with many users sharing their frustrations over these impostors who demand thousands of dollars before starting the application, NBC News reported. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recommends ignoring individuals who attempt to contact migrants online and ask for any form of compensation.
“There are people out there capable of making things up and innocent people fall for it,” Venezuelan Yovanna Dimatteo said, according to NBC. “We fall for things because of the desperation and the anguish we’re facing.”
The program has faced scrutiny from former officials, like former Deputy Department of Homeland and Security (DHS) Secretary Ken Cuccinelli and former acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan, who consider parole as a loophole that would legalize the admission of migrants who would otherwise enter the country illegally.
USCIS did not immediately respond to a Daily Caller News Foundation request for comment.
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