The Department of Homeland Security has ordered a major release of migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Colombia into the US by granting them humanitarian parole, according to a Fox News report.
A DHS source told the outlet that the agency had notified Border Patrol agents of the move via email on Sunday, saying it was “effective immediately.”
“HQ has authorized the following: PATD is authorized for CVNs [Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans], all demographics. PATD is authorized for Colombian FMUs [family units],” read an image of the purported email.
“ATD” usually stands for alternatives to detention.
The email also announced that the expulsion of single adults from Colombia under the Title 42 health authority was in effect.
“Please reach out to ERO [Enforcement and Removal Operations] to coordinate ATD and releases. Please make the timeframe for the parole conditions 60 days unless ICE would prefer shorter,” the email continues.
Fox News reported, citing Border Patrol sources in Texas’ Del Rio sector, that some of the mass releases have already started.
Humanitarian parole allows individuals who “may be inadmissible or otherwise ineligible” to enter the US for “a temporary period for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit,” according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Service.
According to the agency, parole is determined “on a case-by-case basis, by evaluating positive factors in the record against any negative factors.”
“No one factor determines the outcome of the case. Each decision is based on all of the circumstances present in a case,” USCIS has said.
Parole is usually granted for no longer than a year and the email indicates those affected by the weekend announcement would have it for two months.
In a statement to Fox News, Customs and Border Prevention did not confirm the releases, but said the agency “continues to expel migrants under CDC’s Title 42 authority.”
“Those who cannot be expelled under Title 42 and do not have a legal basis to remain are placed in expedited or full removal proceedings,” the statement continued. “Although some facilities have reached capacity, CBP continues to safely, efficiently, and effectively process individuals encountered in the Del Rio sector. As part of the process for effectuating removals, Border Patrol agents collect biometric and biographic information and run a background check to identify and continue to detain those who pose a public safety risk.”
DHS and CBP did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on the reported releases.
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