As if the massive and virtually unchecked influx of illegal immigrants over the past three years isn’t bad enough, Republican governors joined together yesterday to criticize the harm being done to their states over what they term the Biden Administration’s “poorly administered Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) asylum program.”
Gov. Brian Kemp and 24 other GOP governors wrote to President Joe Biden “to detail how the lack of coordination and sharing of information is harming not only their states, but also serving as a detriment to those seeking asylum themselves, and to demand complete information about the location and status of migrants being directed to their communities.”
The letter emphasizes that the “impact of this ‘parole’ process has been a sudden influx of foreign nationals throughout our states and communities. The unexplainable lack of any communication from your administration over arrival times, duration of residency, legal status, and location of these ‘parolees’ has created considerable confusion and alarm among local officials and the general public. In the absence of direction from DHS (the Department of Homeland Security), law enforcement and municipal leaders have often been left to rely upon news reports and social media posts to determine size and location of incoming migrant populations to assess what impact they may have on already limited government services including local public schools. The apparent dumping of migrants into our cities and small towns with no advance notice has not only sowed mistrust and fear among the public, but it has also placed the migrants themselves at potential of physical harm.”
The governors note that the CHNV program was suspended in July due to reports of fraud and abuse, yet it was quickly reinstated in August reportedly after more thorough vetting procedures were claimed to have been implemented. “Given the volume of migrants now allowed to enter and travel freely within the United States under the CHNV program, it is difficult to believe that every potential for fraud and abuse has been eliminated in one month’s time,” the letter says.
Bottom line: The governors are demanding a full accounting from the Biden-Harris Administration and DHS about the location and status of the parolee populations in their states. “We further require information about the ‘robust security vetting’ DHS claims to have undertaken on each parolee, and we ask for the names and locations of the sponsors who have been granted guardianship over CHNV parole processes,” the letter says. Read the full letter here.
Signatories are: Governor Kay Ivey (AL), Governor Mike Dunleavy (AK), Governor Sarah Sanders (AR), Governor Ron DeSantis (FL), Governor Brian Kemp (GA), Governor Brad Little (ID), Governor Eric Holcomb (IN), Governor Kim Reynolds (IA), Governor Jeff Landry (LA), Governor Tate Reeves (MS), Governor Mike Parson (MO), Governor Greg Gianforte (MT), Governor Jim Pillen (NE), Governor Joe Lombardo (NV), Governor Chris Sununu (NH), Governor Doug Burgum (ND), Governor Kevin Stitt (OK), Governor Henry McMaster (SC), Governor Kristi Noem (SD), Governor Bill Lee (TN), Governor Greg Abbott (TX), Governor Spencer Cox (UT), Governor Glenn Youngkin (VA), Governor Jim Justice (WV), and Governor Mark Gordon (WY).
