US resumes humanitarian parole program with more vetting for sponsors

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Thursday that the additional investigation would include closer scrutiny of the financial records that U.S.-based sponsors are required to submit, as well as their criminal records.

Sponsors will be required to submit fingerprints, and the agency will step up efforts to identify fraudulent sponsors and those who submit multiple applications.

DHS said an internal review found some instances of fraud, such as sponsors using false Social Security numbers, but that most of the cases it investigated had a reasonable explanation, such as a typographical error when a sponsor submitted information online.

“From the outset of the process, a very small number of supporters were found to have fraud or criminal concerns that warranted referral to the authorities for investigation and/or appropriate action,” the agency said.

The Department of Homeland Security also said it had found no problems in vetting the migrants themselves, saying those who come to the United States under the program “have been thoroughly screened and monitored.”

When it announced the suspension of the program, the Department of Homeland Security did not say when processing would stop, but the news came after the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that favors immigration restrictions, cited an internal agency report that raised questions about the possibility of fraud.