MIAMI -- The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Monday defended a parole process that allows up to 30,000 Haitians, Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans monthly to come to the United States, following a legal challenge from Florida's governor and those of 19 other Republican-led states.
"It is remarkable to me that states will attack a solution to the problem about which they complain," said Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of DHS, during a news conference Monday at the Little Haiti Cultural Center with Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joined Texas and 18 other states in challenging the Biden administration's two-year parole program. A federal judge has yet to hear the case, but the challenge has created panic in the communities that could benefit from the parole process out of fear the court could halt the program.
Mayorkas -- a Havana-born Cuban American who is the first Latino and immigrant to lead the agency -- said it was "incomprehensible" that the lawsuit was filed because the program "addresses the challenge that we have been encountering at our southern border."
He cited preliminary data the Department of Homeland Security released last week, which said that there had been a 97% decrease in encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border with Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians, and Venezuelans without proper documentation compared to December.
"Why these states would oppose an enforcement program that is proving successful is beyond my comprehension," he said.
Texas is leading the lawsuit. The state governments argue that the parole program is an overreach of the agency's power and goes beyond the limits of how immigration agencies can use the parole program. They also say that the arrival of migrants through the parole program will strain state resources. Mayorkas, DHS, and the immigration agencies under its umbrella and their leadership, have all been named as defendants.
The Biden administration announced the program on Jan. 5 amid an increase in migration from Nicaragua, Venezuela, Haiti, and Cuba at the U.S. southern border. At the same time, hundreds of Cubans have arrived in the Florida Keys as part of a surge in Cuban migration since the end of the winter holidays. The federal government hopes the initiative will reduce dangerous journeys that migrants take to reach the U.S.-Mexico border by land and Florida by water.
Several immigration rights groups in Florida have come out in favor of the parole program. But with South Florida already seeing a strain in social services, local leaders have also expressed concerns about the parole programs' effects. All four nationalities are heavily represented in Miami-Dade County.
Mayorkas said that people coming through the initiative qualify for work authorization as part of their approval, so "they are not calling upon local resources to support them." Parole decisions, he added, are being made on a case-by-case basis.
"We stand by the legality of the program," he said.
On Monday, Mayorkas also drove home the message that migrants should not risk their lives to enter the United States by sea. Just last week, Cuban media reported the sinking of a migrant boat near the city of Cardenas. Several people have been reported dead or missing.
Ahead of Monday's press conference, Mayorkas met with Florida Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Mario Diaz-Balart, Maria Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez. While Wasserman Schultz is a Democrat, the others are all Republicans who earlier this month co-signed a letter to the DHS head asking for additional information about the new border policies announced on Jan. 5 and the ramifications for nationals from the four countries as well as the United States' national security.
In addition to allowing individuals to apply for parole into the United States, migrants trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border will first need authorization. Otherwise, they risk being quickly expelled back under the controversial public health policy Title 42, the administration announced. Mexico has agreed to take back 30,000 undocumented migrants a month as part of the new U.S. immigration policies.
In their letter, Diaz-Balart, Salazar and Gimenez said they wanted to know, among other things, "the public policy rationale for the changes," and that the "up to 30,000" a month cap for nationals of the four groups raises many questions. Among them why was the number chosen, how will it be divided between the four nationalities and why these particular four countries were chosen.
Mayorkas meets Haitian leaders
In the Monday morning meeting at the Little Haiti Cultural Center, Mayorkas heard concerns and questions from Haitian-American politicians, Miami religious leaders, immigration lawyers, activists and county officials.
"We're looking forward to this administration staying true to its promises, and really making it equitable for people to have access to the American dream," said North Miami Beach Commissioner Daniella Jean.
The parole program has received mixed reviews from the Haitian community, both in South Florida and in Haiti, where demands for passports at the government's immigration offices have skyrocketed, creating traffic jams in Haitian cities around the country.
Critics have pointed out that the program doesn't do anything to help those who are undocumented already in the United States, and the two year window doesn't allow for a path to residency, creating further uncertainty about what happens after two years.
There are also concerns that the program, which requires applicants to be sponsored by family members living in the United States who can show they have the financial means to take care of someone for two years and pass a background check, will create problems among families not willing to sponsor relatives. Haitian leaders also say the program further opens the door to a brain drain of professionals and others, raising questions about who will rebuild the country.
Others have emphasized the need for the United States to work with Haitian civil society to create the necessary political, social and economic conditions for Haitians to stay in the country.
"We welcome everything that is good for the community. We believe that it provides a sense of relief, but it is not a solution," said Father Reginald Jean-Mary. "It is important for the Biden-Harris administration to understand that the root cause of the problem is what's happening in Haiti."
Miami Cubans discuss D.C.-Havana relations
Afterward, Mayorkas went to the Ermita de la Caridad, the Shrine to Our Lady of Charity in Coconut Grove, and met with members of the Cuban-American community. The list of people invited was diverse and included Grammy-award winners Emilio Estefan and Yotuel Romero; Cuban activist Rosa María Paya; artist Tania Bruguera; Felice Gorordo, President's Biden nominee to serve on World Bank's board; the Chairman of the Cuba Study, Carlos Saladrigas; Democratic activist Carmen Pelaez, and former U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia.
Participants raised concerns about Cuban migrants who entered the country after former President Barack Obama eliminated the parole policy known as "wet-foot, dry-foot" in 2017 and are still in legal limbo, unable to obtain residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act.
They also discussed the situation in Cuba and how the United States could help the Cuban people in their pursuit of freedom. Some advocated for policy changes to address the ongoing humanitarian situation on the island, while others insisted on putting pressure on the Cuban government for its human rights violations, according to recounts of the event shared by several participants.
"It is very good that the Secretary has come in such a critical moment," Estefan told the Herald after the meeting. "But you cannot negotiate with the communists, you always have to insist on respect for human rights. You can't keep putting Band-Aids. The cancer is in Cuba."
Saladrigas also welcomed the visit, calling Mayorkas "one of us." But he said the administration could not remain idle in terms of Cuba policy while the situation in Cuba deteriorates.
"Without help to ease the pressure, the situation could explode in a very disagreeable way for both the Cuban people and the United States," he said in an interview.
During the meeting, some Cuban Americans also criticized law enforcement talks held recently in Havana that included representatives of several U.S, federal agencies, including DHS, the U.S. Coast Guard and the FBI.
"In the context of the talks between Homeland Security and the criminal Cuban Ministry of Interior, we asked Secretary Mayorkas that the United States stop giving concessions to the regime without first verifying the unconditional release of all political prisoners; the end of repression; respect for fundamental human rights and that definitive and irreversible steps are taken to hold free, fair and multiparty elections," said Paya.