Bill Melugin Profile picture
Apr 30 2 tweets 3 min read Read on X
EXCLUSIVE: Internal DHS data reveals the 45+ U.S. cities that hundreds of thousands of migrants have flown into via the Biden administration's controversial "CHNV" mass parole program.
The data was obtained by @HomelandGOP via a subpoena to DHS, and was provided to @FoxNews.
The DHS data shows that during an 8 month stretch from January through August 2023, roughly 200,000 migrants flew into the U.S. via the program, with 80% of them, (161,562) arriving in the state of Florida in four cities: Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, & Tampa.

The top 15 cities migrants flew into, & the numbers during this 8 month window, are below.

1) Miami, FL: 91,821
2) Ft. Lauderdale, FL: 60,461
3) New York City, NY: 14,827
4) Houston, TX: 7,923
5) Orlando, FL: 6,043
6) Los Angeles, CA: 3,271
7) Tampa, FL: 3,237
8) Dallas, TX: 2,256
9) San Francisco, CA: 2,052
10) Atlanta, GA: 1,796
11) Newark, NJ: 1,498
12) Washington, D.C.: 1,472
13) Chicago, IL: 496
14) Las Vegas, NV: 483
15) Austin, TX: 171

I've attached the raw DHS data provided in the subpoena response showing all of the locations the migrants flew into during these 8 months in the chart below.

DHS also revealed in the subpoena response that as of October 2023, there was a backlog about 1.6 million applicants waiting for DHS approval to fly to the U.S. via the parole program.

In response to the DHS data revealing Florida received the overwhelming majority of migrant flights during the 8 month window, FL. Gov. @RonDeSantis's office provided FOX the following statement:

"Biden's parole program is unlawful, and constitutes an abuse of constitutional authority. Florida is currently suing Biden to shut it down, and we believe that we will prevail." - @JeremyRedfernFL, DeSantis' Press Secretary.

DHS also wrote in the subpoena response that "All individuals paroled into the United States are, by definition, inadmissible, including those paroled under the CHNV processes."

Congressman @RepMarkGreen, Chairman of @HomelandGOP, told FOX in response:

"What they're essentially saying is that the laws passed by Congress have said that these people are inadmissible, and so they created a program to try to get around those laws. The thing is, they don't have the authority to create such a program. By their own admission, they're breaking the law."

Reminder: The CHNV parole program, created by the Biden admin in January 2023, allows up to 30,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, & Venezuela to bypass the southern border entirely, and fly into the U.S. directly from foreign countries for a two year humanitarian parole grant if they have a sponsor in the U.S., and are vetted/approved for travel. The flights are commercial, and are not funded by taxpayers. The program recipient or their sponsor pays for it, and the parole grant allows the recipient to apply to work. The Biden admin considers the program a "lawful pathway", and the migrants flying into the U.S. via the program are not included in the southern border numbers.

According to CBP data, at least 404,000 migrants have flown into the U.S. via the CHNV parole program since it first began:

154,000 Haitians
95,000 Venezuelans
84,000 Cubans
69,000 Nicaraguans

So far, legal challenges to this controversial parole program have failed in court. A Texas lawsuit was dismissed earlier this year after a judge ruled the state didn't have standing to sue. More lawsuits are pending.

The Biden admin says the program is a lawful use of executive parole authority. They consider the program a success, and believe it provides an incentive to not cross the US border illegally. The numbers of Haitians and Cubans crossing illegally have steeply fallen as a result of the program.

Critics say the program essentially waves a magic wand to mass import hundreds of thousands of otherwise inadmissible migrants into the US, with the likelihood of them ever leaving or being deported if they stay past the permitted parole grant being remarkably low.Image
.@FoxNews ARTICLE w/ colleague @AdamShawNY
foxnews.com/politics/dhs-d…

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More from @BillMelugin_

Feb 23
BREAKING: Another Border Patrol bus full of illegal immigrants, this one all adult men, just pulled up and mass released them onto San Diego streets. Again, men from all over the world going to blue cities. One man from Mauritania told me he is gay and is here to request asylum.
And ANOTHER bus - this one mostly women - just pulled up and mass released more. We’ve now seen several hundred illegal immigrants released to the street here in the last hour and a half.
Some jumping into cabs and off they go!
Read 4 tweets
Feb 23
BREAKING: Just witnessed a large mass street release of illegal immigrants released from Border Patrol custody at a trolley station in San Diego (San Ysidro).
I talked to some of them, from Peru, Colombia, & India. Some going to Atlanta & Minneapolis wanting to work.
BREAKING: Another bus just pulled up and Border Patrol just mass released more illegal immigrants at the trolley station. Talked to more of them - from Senegal, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, one here from China. Heading to New York, New Jersey, Chicago, etc. All blue cities.
They are now receiving help from what appears to be a NGO/volunteer group and are boarding a new bus - unknown destination.
Read 4 tweets
Feb 19
NEW: I am in the Jacumba, CA area tonight - an hour east of San Diego, where this group of illegal immigrants from around the world is camped out off I-8 w/ no Border Patrol in sight. People from China, Turkey, Ecuador etc planning to go all over US. Exchanges w/ them below. 👇🏻
This group is from Turkey, wants to go New Jersey & Florida to work & for family reasons.
Group from China, appears to want to go to New York.
Read 7 tweets
Feb 5
NEW: My initial highlights from the border deal.

- No amnesty/legalization of anyone already in the U.S. illegally.

- Funds an increase in ICE detention capacity to approx. 50,000 from the current 34,000.

- At 7 day rolling average of 5,000 encounters per day, or 8,500 encounters in a single day, DHS is *required* to shut the border down, and turn away anyone who crosses. No new asylum claims will be allowed and anybody crossing will be removed. Would end the whole idea of "I made it to U.S. soil, you have to process me." That would be over, Border Patrol would not process the illegal crosser and they would be removed - no asylum claim permitted, unless its made at a port of entry.

- This does not mean 5,000 are "allowed in" before this authority kicks in. Single adults would be detained, families would be released via ATD (alternatives to detention), and asylum cases would be fast tracked to months rather than years under a new rapid/expedited expulsion system. Those who fail would be quickly removed from the US. Those who initially pass would be released with work authorization and 90 day supervision until final asylum claim is determined.

- The shut down authority doesn't drop until crossings decrease significantly in the days following the shut down.

- Significantly tougher asylum requirements, and a higher credible fear standard, including three bars to eligibility. 1) Criminal history, 2) Could they have resettled in another country on the way to the US? 3) Could they have resettled somewhere else in their own country? Just saying you're scared to return home will no longer be enough in initial interview.

- It *appears* that the legislation would move asylum claim decisions away from immigration judges, and instead have them be handled by USCIS.

- $1.4 billion in FEMA funding available for disbursement to NGOs/municipalities, but some of that money doesn't unlock until key border security metrics are hit with ICE detention beds, ICE & Border Patrol new hires, and at least 1,500 deportation flights.

- Ends use of parole releases via CBP One app, and ends parole for illegal crossers between ports of entry.

- Keeps humanitarian parole as it was originally intended (medical procedures, court cases, etc), and keeps the current Biden admin parole program in place for Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans.

- 50,000 new visas over 5 years.

- Fuding to hire hundreds more ICE deportation officers, Border Patrol agents, and USCIS asylum officers, and greatly increases number of deportation flights.

- No unaccompanied minors can be removed, and some of these minors will receive attorneys, either pro bono or taxpayer funded.

- Ends some catch and release, but not all (families and unaccompanied minors not detained).

- DHS will have 90 days to set this new system up before it takes effect.

- There is a provision in the bill that would allow the President to suspend the "shut down" authority.
It says: "Authorizes the President to suspend the border emergency on an emergency basis for up to 45 days if it is in the national interest."

Context: The border has seen at least 5,000 encounters almost every single day the last couple years under Biden. If this bill were signed into law, the border would likely be shut down on the first day it takes effect.

FOX is told by the architects of this legislation the status quo right now is when the border is overwhelmed, "release everyone". They say this bill switches that to, when the border is overwhelmed "remove everyone."

This legislation has provisions in it that will upset border hawks and immigration activists at the same time.

Now we wait to see how both Democrats & Republicans respond. So far, many House GOP members have expressed displeasure, and at least one Democrat Senator (Padilla) has as well.
More details on the FEMA funding for NGOs/municpalities.

More: Unaccompanied minors will not be released into the interior, they'll be transferred to Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Families released w/ ATD will be under supervision and immediately removed if they don't qualify for asylum.
State Department will be required to report recalcitrant countries (countries who don't accept their citizens back for deportation).
Read 5 tweets
Jan 29
BREAKING: Our photographer in Jacumba, CA just witnessed two human smuggling SUVs drop off groups of illegal immigrants who then trot around the border wall and enter the US. People from China, Turkey, & India in this group. This is in eastern San Diego County, and there was only one single Border Patrol agent in the area, per our photographer @BudKnapp.
NEW: Our photographer says volunteer groups are visiting camps of illegal immigrants in the area who are waiting to be picked up by Border Patrol & are handing out these “Welcome to the USA” fliers, which advise them of next steps & claim BP agents lie & “manipulate” people.
Image
Image
For those asking about why this is in English, our photographer says the NGO volunteer told him they have this template in every language and had actually ran out of fliers in Hindi for the day. The volunteer had folders with Spanish, Hindi, Turkish, Mandarin etc & English.
Read 4 tweets
Jan 25
Updated list of states announcing they stand w/ Texas in border dispute w/ federal government.

Florida
Virginia
Georgia
North Dakota
South Dakota
Tennessee
Alabama
Montana
Idaho
Utah
West Virginia
Oklahoma
Nebraska
Louisiana

Several of these states have also previously sent physical help. State troopers, etc.

House Speaker @MikeJohnson has also announced he will support TX.
Update: Arkansas now added to the list.
Read 4 tweets

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