DHS Secretary Says Flying 30,000 Immigrants Monthly is Vital to Border Plan

(DailyVantage.com) – Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas has defended a controversial initiative by the Biden administration to allow as many as 30,000 immigrants to be flown into the U.S. directly, saying that the move is an integral part of the government’s plans to better manage the large influx of migrants looking to enter the country.

According to the DHS secretary, the immigrants will include individuals and families from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Qualified immigrants will be allowed to fly into the U.S. directly as long as they do not enter the country illegally, already have a financial sponsor or sponsors in the country, and have passed a number of security and background checks. The program will also allow these individuals to receive work permits and permission to stay in the country for a period of two years. The government utilized an immigration authority called the “humanitarian parole” to justify the program.

The initiative was met with strong resistance, particularly from Republican states. Twenty states led by officials from the GOP sued the government over the plan. The states argued that the government’s plan was illegal, as the federal government had limited authority over the matter. Furthermore, asylum applications should be evaluated on a “case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.” States also reasoned that the program was essentially forcing states to fork out millions of dollars to fund healthcare, public safety, and education benefits for the said migrants.

However, U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton, who oversaw the case, ruled in favor of the government. Tipton, a Trump appointee who has nixed other policies by the Biden administration in the past, said that the states suing the government were unable to show that they suffered financial losses directly related to the DHS program. Tipton’s decision, however, also indicated that “the Court does not address the lawfulness of the [30,000 immigrant] Program.”