Biden administration touts initial success of border program

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday said unauthorized border crossings plummeted following the rollout of a new program that allows migrants to apply from their home country to enter the U.S. — a program now being challenged by a coalition of conservative states.

The program — limited to migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela — resulted in a 97 percent drop in irregular migration from the four countries, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.

“These expanded border enforcement measures are working,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

Migrants from those four countries accounted for 91,264 of the 251,487 migrant encounters at the border in December.

Under the program, up to 30,000 migrants from those countries can enter the U.S. each month, and the United States can quickly expel to Mexico an equal number of migrants from those nations who show up at the border uninvited.

In its news release, the Department of Homeland Security touted the just 115 daily average crossings in the week leading up to Jan. 24, compared to 3,367 daily average crossings in the week leading up to Dec 11.

But administration officials also took shots at GOP-led states who are suing to stop the parole program, despite its apparent initial success.

“It is incomprehensible that some states who stand to benefit from these highly effective enforcement measures are seeking to block them and cause more irregular migration at our southern border,” said Mayorkas. 

The attack line shows an administration frustrated with a GOP it sees as eager to perpetuate a narrative of crisis at the border at all costs.

Texas claims ‘unlawful amnesty program’

The lawsuit, led by Texas, claims the Biden administration is overreaching in its use of immigration parole, a figure that allows the executive to grant entry into the country to foreign nationals who are not otherwise eligible.

In announcing the lawsuit, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the policy would ultimately attract more unauthorized entrants.

“This unlawful amnesty program, which will invite hundreds of thousands of aliens into the U.S. every year, will only make this immigration crisis drastically worse,” said Paxton in a statement.

But Biden administration officials moved forward with the plan, in large part based on the results of an earlier pilot program that granted similar paths to entry for up to 24,000 Venezuelans.

According to CBP data compiled by the Washington Office on Latin America, border encounters with Venezuelan nationals dropped from 22,045 in October to 7,957 in November and 8,130 in December, once the pilot program started running.

Still, advocates say it is too early to tell whether the numbers will stay down, and they are wary the administration is pairing the parole program with harsh restrictions on asylum for those who enter the country by land.

Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America’s Voice, a progressive immigration advocacy group, said it was “too early to tell” if the change would hold.

“Historically, numbers at the border during the holiday season tend to go down. Having said that, what we at [America’s Voice] are looking for are policies that create legal channels and to uphold the rights of people who seek asylum. We believe we can do both without undermining our asylum process,” Cárdenas said.

A new border narrative?

Administration officials admit the policy is one born of necessity, given legislative gridlock on immigration, rather than the ideal tool to address regional migration pressures.

“We recognize that these are temporary solutions and not a permanent fix. We need Congress to act and pass comprehensive immigration reform measures, including measures to reform our asylum system,” an administration official told reporters.

But the new policy is shifting the political narrative around immigration and the border, creating common ground for the administration and its critics on the left to strike back at the GOP.

“A notable point here is that while the Biden administration is trying to do something to handle the challenges at the border, Republicans are focused on obstruction. As their latest lawsuit shows, the GOP is now on the record showing that they are even opposed to creating legal pathways for migration,” said Cárdenas.

Updated at 5:50 p.m.