The House Committee on Homeland Security says the Biden administration is abusing its immigration parole authority by issuing near blanket approvals via the Department of Homeland Security’s CBP One immigration app.
Documents obtained by the House Committee on Homeland Security after months of stonewalling by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reveal 95.8 percent of all migrant applicants seeking admission to pursue asylum claims are admitted and released into the United States. The migrants are released with minimal vetting, the documents reveal. The documents covered the period between January and September 2023 and show 266,846 of 278,431 migrants were allowed entry into the United States, a percentage far greater than recorded asylum case approvals by immigration courts.
Chairman of the committee, Mark E. Green (R-TN), issued a statement saying, “Secretary Mayorkas has utterly abused the CBP One app in his quest for open borders.”
“These numbers are proof that Mayorkas’ operation is a smokescreen for the mass release of individuals into this country who would otherwise have zero claim to be admitted,” Green continued. “At a time when global tensions are rising, and our enemies are growing bolder, releasing tens of thousands of these people into our communities—especially when they have not received adequate, if any, vetting—is irresponsible. It shouldn’t take a subpoena threat from Congress to get these answers, but we are going to keep fighting for the truth.”
The approval rates for final asylum adjudication, according to TRAC, a data gathering, data research and data distribution organization at Syracuse University, stands at 37 percent. The nearly 96 percent admission rate under the CBP One application at ports of entry does not correlate with the historically lower number of asylum applications approved by immigration courts when cases are ultimately adjudicated. The number of successful asylum adjudications, which is higher under the Biden administration than in previous years, is far below the shockingly high parole rates using CBP One, according to the documents released by DHS.
According to the documents released by DHS to the House Committee on Homeland Security majority:
- Overall, 95.8 percent of all inadmissible migrants who scheduled appointments through the CBP One application between January and September 2023 were ultimately issued a “Notice to Appear” (NTA) and released into the United States on parole.
- 278,431 appointments were scheduled, with 266,846 of these individuals released into the interior of the United States to pursue asylum claims.
Migrants from the following countries made appointments through the application and were overwhelmingly released into the country:
- Of 57,381 appointments made by Venezuelan nationals, 55,690 were granted parole, a rate of 97 percent.
- Of 20,948 appointments made by Russian nationals, 19,780 were granted parole, a rate of 94 percent.
- Of 2,279 appointments made by Uzbek nationals, 1,866 were granted parole, a rate of 82 percent.
- Of 801 appointments made by Belarusian nationals, 787 were granted parole, a rate of 98 percent.
- Of 246 appointments made by Afghan nationals, 229 were granted parole, a rate of 93 percent.
- Of 36 appointments made by Chinese nationals, 32 were granted parole, a rate of 88 percent.
- Of 18 appointments made by Iranian nationals, 16 were granted parole, a rate of 88 percent.
According to the GOP majority in the House Committee on Homeland Security, CBP One has consistently been used to release otherwise inadmissible aliens from Mexico and Northern Triangle countries.
- Of 58,772 appointments made by Mexican nationals, 55,099 were released on parole, a rate of 93 percent.
- Of 20,776 appointments made by Hondurans, 20,060 were released on parole, a rate of 96 percent.
- Of 3,939 appointments made by Guatemalans, 3,717 were released on parole, a rate of 94 percent.
According to the House Committee on Homeland Security majority, other nations represented in the release statistics, according to the documents, include Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and Yemen. The committee first requested the documents in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in June 2023. The letter requesting the released data described the enhanced use of the CBP One application as a danger to migrants seeking admission to the United States stating:
DHS claims that the application’s continued expansion will help provide a “safe, orderly, and lawful path” for aliens to access the U.S. legal system. But the use of this application is anything but safe, orderly, and lawful. Indeed, to schedule a time to appear at a port of entry, a migrant must still make the dangerous journey to Mexico, where there is a high probability, they will be assaulted, raped, or killed. Also, the application only offers a limited number of appointments per day, creating a significant backlog of impatient migrants who are flooding into Mexico, hoping for an appointment. In addition, this application only exacerbates the security risks already plaguing our Southwest border, expediting the process for aliens to be released into the country with little vetting.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.