MIAMI — Migrants and asylum seekers fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries have increasingly found that protections in the United States are available to those with money or the savvy to find someone to vouch for them financially.
President Joe Biden announced a massive expansion of humanitarian parole Jan. 5 for Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans that is reserved for those who apply online, pay airfare and have a financial sponsor for two years.
Marta Lavandier, Associated Press
Maria Antonieta Diaz poses for a photo, Thursday in Miramar, Fla. She has sponsored several Venezuelans under a parole program started in October.
It builds on a measure introduced in October to admit 24,000 Venezuelans to the United States for two years if they have sponsors — and, on the flip side, to quickly expel anyone crossing the border illegally back to Mexico, denying them a chance to seek asylum.
Maria Antonieta Diaz, a Venezuela-born accountant and entrepreneur living in the U.S for more than two decades, sent a WhatsApp message to former classmates in Venezuela after the Biden administration offered humanitarian parole Oct. 12, asking if they needed a sponsor. She set up a website, circulated a signup sheet and got 40,000 responses from people seeking financial backing, some representing entire families.
Diaz vouched for a man who came with two adult sons but left behind his wife, a daughter and her spouse and a 6-month-old child because they could not afford $200 passport renewals.
Many in the U.S. are reluctant to sponsor strangers, fearing they will be on the hook for any debts, Diaz said.
Young Kwak, Associated Press
Dr. Kyle Varner, second from the right, who sponsors and houses people through the Venezuelan humanitarian parole program, speaks at his house with program beneficiaries, from left, Maria Amare, Cesar Baez, Jenderson Rondon and Henry Nadales on Friday in Spokane, Wash.
“It is not easy, it is not a perfect program, not everyone will be able to benefit,” she said in a phone interview from her office in Miramar, a suburb northwest of Miami.
Biden said that up to 30,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans would be eligible for humanitarian parole every month, entitling them to work in the U.S. for two years. At the same time, Mexico agreed to accept the same number from those four countries who enter the U.S. illegally, even if they come seeking asylum.
U.S. officials pointed to a 90% drop in Venezuelan arrivals after October’s policy shift, ending their short-lived status as the second-largest nationality at the border after Mexicans. The Biden administration granted parole under similar terms to 100,000 Ukrainians after Russia’s invasion.
Asked about limiting parole to those with financial backing, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas didn’t answer directly, saying only that such policies for Venezuelans and Ukrainians succeeded.
Mayorkas said the policy will last as long as conditions dictate, potentially even beyond a Trump-era rule known as Title 42, under which migrants have been denied a chance to seek asylum under U.S. and international law 2.5 million times on grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on Title 42 in February.
He said U.S. officials are working on a plan under which people may seek asylum through scheduled appointments at border entry points.
Guerline Jozef, executive director of Haitian Bridge Alliance, said telling people who are fleeing extreme conditions in their countries to stay put is unacceptable, and questioned how someone in a dire situation traveling through the Americas without a phone or access to an embassy is supposed to use an app to get an appointment to apply for asylum.
“That is completely disconnected from the reality of people fleeing to seek asylum,” Jozef told reporters Friday.
Asylum applicants must prove they face persecution at home under limited criteria such as race, political opinion or religious belief, without regard to financial status. Some who arrive at the border later will obtain asylum through the U.S. immigration courts but not all will qualify.
Under the parole policy, Homeland Security can admit anyone “on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”
In October, Dr. Kyle Varner of Spokane, Washington, was overwhelmed with hundreds of responses when he posted on Facebook that he was open to sponsoring Venezuelans. He set aside a four-room house that he bought as an investment.
Varner has backed 49 Venezuelans so far, most of whom he has never seen. Only eight have been approved and settled in Spokane.
Varner, 38, developed an affinity for Venezuelans as a medical student in Miami in 2012, surrounded by neighbors who left the South American country for a better life. As a doctor, he says he can provide medical care if needed, business contacts to find a job and assistance with online English learning.
“My idea is that I’m a launching pad for people to have a new life,” said Varner, who has traveled four times to Cucuta, a Colombian city on Venezuela’s border, to provide free medical care to fleeing Venezuelans. “I intend to do everything I can to advocate for the expansion of this program, and I also want to help Americans who want to be sponsors.”
Prospective volunteers may hesitate to provide tax returns or other required documents, said Parker Newburn, program coordinator for Home for Refugees, an aid group. Many Venezuelans have relatives in the United States but not all are in a position to sponsor, he said.
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
Migrants eat and wait for help while camping on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
Migrants eat and wait for help while camping on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
Two young migrants from Venezuela share a coloring book while waiting for help in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
Two young migrants from Venezuela share a coloring book while waiting for help in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
A migrant covers himself with blankets while waiting for help in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
A migrant covers himself with blankets while waiting for help in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
Mexican migrant Carmen Aros and four of her five daughters wait for news before attempting to cross the border into the U.S while staying at a church-run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
Mexican migrant Carmen Aros and four of her five daughters wait for news before attempting to cross the border into the U.S while staying at a church-run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Christian Chavez
Migrants wait near the U.S.-Mexico border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Pandemic-era immigration restrictions in the U.S. known as Title 42 are set to expire on Dec. 21. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Christian Chavez
Migrants wait near the U.S.-Mexico border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Pandemic-era immigration restrictions in the U.S. known as Title 42 are set to expire on Dec. 21. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Christian Chavez
Migrants stand near the U.S.-Mexico border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Pandemic-era immigration restrictions in the U.S. known as Title 42 are set to expire on Dec. 21. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Christian Chavez
Migrants stand near the U.S.-Mexico border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Pandemic-era immigration restrictions in the U.S. known as Title 42 are set to expire on Dec. 21. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Christian Chavez
Migrants look towards the U.S.-Mexico border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Pandemic-era immigration restrictions in the U.S. known as Title 42 are set to expire on Dec. 21. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Christian Chavez
Migrants look towards the U.S.-Mexico border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Pandemic-era immigration restrictions in the U.S. known as Title 42 are set to expire on Dec. 21. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
Venezuelan migrant Jonathan Colina mops the floor of a government-run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
Venezuelan migrant Jonathan Colina mops the floor of a government-run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Christian Chavez
Migrants cross the U.S.-Mexico border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and turn themselves into U.S. Border Patrol agents, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Pandemic-era immigration restrictions in the U.S. known as Title 42 are set to expire on Dec. 21. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
Christian Chavez
Migrants cross the U.S.-Mexico border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and turn themselves into U.S. Border Patrol agents, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Pandemic-era immigration restrictions in the U.S. known as Title 42 are set to expire on Dec. 21. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
Two migrants, who met earlier on their way to the U.S., celebrate after seeing each other in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
Two migrants, who met earlier on their way to the U.S., celebrate after seeing each other in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
Migrants form a line to receive warm food donated by residents in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
Migrants form a line to receive warm food donated by residents in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
Migrants from El Salvador pose for a photo while waiting for help on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
Migrants from El Salvador pose for a photo while waiting for help on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
A migrant family from Venezuela camps on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
A migrant family from Venezuela camps on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
A resident distributes homemade sandwiches to migrants camping on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
A resident distributes homemade sandwiches to migrants camping on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
A migrant unfolds a donated blanket to prepare to spend another day on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
A migrant unfolds a donated blanket to prepare to spend another day on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
A migrant from El Salvador covers himself from a light winter drizzle while camping on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
A migrant from El Salvador covers himself from a light winter drizzle while camping on a street in downtown El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
A migrant from Ecuador crosses the Rio Grande toward El Paso, Texas, from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
A migrant from Ecuador crosses the Rio Grande toward El Paso, Texas, from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
A migrant walks between rows of bunk beds at a government run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
A migrant walks between rows of bunk beds at a government run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
Venezuelan migrant Gerardo Viloria celebrates a goal by Argentina while watching the TV broadcast of the FIFA World Cup final game at a government-run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
Venezuelan migrant Gerardo Viloria celebrates a goal by Argentina while watching the TV broadcast of the FIFA World Cup final game at a government-run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
Guatemalan migrant Maudelina Geronimo feeds her three-year-old daughter Lisbeth at a government run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
Guatemalan migrant Maudelina Geronimo feeds her three-year-old daughter Lisbeth at a government run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
Young Mexican migrants play soccer at a church-run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
Young Mexican migrants play soccer at a church-run shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
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Mexico draws more asylum-seekers despite grisly violence
Andres Leighton
A small group of migrants discuss whether or not to cross the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and surrender to the Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Andres Leighton
A small group of migrants discuss whether or not to cross the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and surrender to the Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. Texas border cities were preparing Sunday for a surge of as many as 5,000 new migrants a day across the U.S.-Mexico border as pandemic-era immigration restrictions expire this week, setting in motion plans for providing emergency housing, food and other essentials. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
