Under the Biden administration’s migrant flight program, certain inadmissible aliens are able to travel straight from overseas to domestic U.S. airports.
Migrants are flown into the nation’s interior rather than crossing the border, after which they are released on “parole.”
Florida has emerged as the primary landing zone for migrant flights, according to a report by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), with a significant number of arrivals recorded since the inception of the program.
On Friday, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released a report showing that over 400,00 illegal aliens have been flown into US airports. The exact cities and the number of migrants per-city are unclear.
According to CBP, 404,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans arrived lawfully on commercial flights through the end of March 2024 and were granted parole under these processes.
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Specifically, 86,000 Cubans, 168,000 Haitians, 77,000 Nicaraguans, and 102,000 Venezuelans were vetted and authorized for travel; and 84,000 Cubans, 154,000 Haitians, 69,000 Nicaraguans, and 95,000 Venezuelans arrived lawfully and were granted parole.
Earlier this month, Florida Governor DeSantis’s office blasted the program, saying, “The federal government is encouraging illegal immigration and even aiding these individuals to enter the country. They’ve cloaked these secretive flights as a lawful parole program. The state of Florida is fighting back in Court to end this practice and stop the federal government’s illegal immigrant importation efforts,” said Bryan Griffin, Office of Governor Ron DeSantis Communications Director.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, the Miami Field Office has processed nearly 326,000 initial arrivals from inception through February.
This data suggests that a majority of inadmissible alien passengers, particularly Cubans, Venezuelans, and Haitians, choose to land in Florida, where established expatriate communities exist.
In addition to Miami, other international airports in Florida have also witnessed a notable influx of migrants.
According to CIS, the Tampa Field Office, covering the rest of the state, processed an additional 19,490 fliers during the same period, resulting in a total of 325,995 Florida presumed humanitarian parole grants.
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It is important to note that these figures represent only the initial landing and release, and do not provide information on the migrants’ subsequent destinations within the country.
“The efforts in Florida are making this state an undesirable destination for anyone in the country illegally. Since taking office, Governor DeSantis has championed the state’s efforts to enact private-sector E-Verify, increase penalties for human trafficking and smuggling, and crack down on illegal aliens who commit crimes<” added Jeremy Redfern, Office of Governor Ron DeSantis Press Secretary.
Florida is currently the only state in the country that has a legal challenge on the parole program that has won and still has cases pending:
- FL v. US (on parole; Florida won, pending in 11th)
- FL v. Mayorkas (on parole with conditions; Florida won a preliminary injunction, pending in 11th)
- FL joined Indiana v. Mayorkas (challenges CBP one releases; stayed pending outcome of a related case)
- FL joined TX v. DHS (challenges Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) program; lost in district court but has appealed)
- TX v. US (challenges CAM Program; still pending in trial court).
“This is but one of the many examples of how Biden’s egregious and unlawful immigration policies are disproportionately taxing the resources of certain states. As with Biden’s other unlawful policies, we will continue to fight the CHNV program in court,” said Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody in a statement.
Florida has proactively addressed illegal immigration over the past couple of years.
Governor DeSantis has sent state Law Enforcement personnel and assets to the southern border to assist border security operations and has sent personnel and assets to the southern waters of Florida to stop and assist in repatriating illegal immigrants seeking to enter the U.S. by sea, particularly from Haiti.
Last year, Governor DeSantis signed the strongest anti-illegal immigration legislation in the country to combat Biden’s Border Crisis.
The legislation:
- Requires private employers with 25 or more employees to use the E-Verify system for new employees, beginning on July 1, 2023. This bill also expands penalties for employers who fail to comply with E-Verify requirements, including the possible suspension and revocation of employer licenses and the imposition of specific penalties on employers that knowingly employ illegal aliens.
- Created a third-degree felony for an unauthorized alien to knowingly use a false ID document to gain employment and prohibits a county or municipality from providing funds to any person or organization for the purpose of issuing IDs or other documents to an illegal alien.
- Enhanced the crime of human smuggling when smuggling a minor, when smuggling more than five people, and when the defendant has a prior conviction for human smuggling. This bill also adds the crime of human smuggling to the list of crimes allowed for prosecution under the Florida Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act.
- Required each hospital that accepts Medicaid to include a question on admission or registration forms that asks whether the patient is a U.S. citizen or lawfully present in the U.S. or is not lawfully present in the U.S. Hospitals will be required to provide a quarterly report to the Agency for Health Care Administration detailing the number of patients that visited the emergency department or were admitted to the hospital in each category of the citizen status question on the admission or registration forms.
In March of this year, Governor DeSantis took further action to address illegal immigration and criminal activity in Florida by championing three additional bills to combat illegal immigration in Florida:
- SB 1036, which enhances penalties for a crime committed by an individual who returns to the country illegally after an initial deportation.
- A third-degree felony (up to 5 years in prison) after deportation will be charged as a second-degree felony (up to 15 years in prison).
- A second-degree felony (up to 15 years in prison) after deportation will be charged as a first-degree felony (up to 30 years in prison).
- A first-degree felony (up to 30 years in prison) after deportation will be charged as a life felony.
- SB 1036 also enhances penalties for crimes committed in furtherance of drug cartels.
- HB 1451, which prevents counties and municipalities from accepting ID cards issued to illegal aliens by other jurisdictions.
- Florida already prohibits local jurisdictions from issuing IDs or driver licenses to illegal immigrants.
- HB 1589, which increases penalties on individuals who operate a vehicle without a license.
- Increases the maximum sentence from 60 days in jail to one year in jail for two or more offenses, and a minimum mandatory sentence of ten days in jail for three or more offenses.
While Florida takes the lead as the top landing zone for migrant flights, other regions in the United States have also experienced a significant number of arrivals.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection data reveals that the Houston Field Office, including Oklahoma, processed approximately 21,964 migrants from FY 2023 through February 2024.
The George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, a major travel hub for Latin America, has been a key entry point for migrants arriving through the program.
Cities in the New York Field Office jurisdiction, such as JFK and LaGuardia airports, have also encountered a substantial number of inadmissible aliens from the selected nationalities.
From FY 2023 through February 2024, the New York Field Office recorded 33,408 encounters with migrants. Similarly, airports in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, and Chicago have all received migrants as part of the direct-flight parole program.
Local, state, and national leaders must know where these flights deliver migrants. This information can aid in financial planning for the care of migrants and enable leaders to advocate for appropriate federal resources.
Additionally, this data may have implications for litigation by states that have sued to stop the parole programs, as the undisclosed flights can be seen as an abuse of statutory parole authority.
The impact of the migrant flight program extends beyond the initial landing zones. Migrants who arrive in Florida, Texas, New York, and California may transfer to domestic flights to reach their final destinations across the nation.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) possesses this information, which could provide a comprehensive understanding of how the program operates and its effects on different regions of the country.
Transparency is crucial when it comes to the migrant flight program. The public interest lies in understanding the airports involved, both in the United States and abroad, and the individuals approved for these flights.
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However, the DHS has declined to disclose the U.S. and foreign departure airports, citing law enforcement protection grounds.
The agency argues that revealing this information could create security vulnerabilities that “bad actors” might exploit.
Critics, including the Center for Immigration Studies, dispute this claim and assert that transparency is essential for public accountability and informed decision-making.
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