‘Optics’ behind Biden move to revive immigration program, expert says

August 30, 2024:

The Biden administration’s decision to restart a controversial immigration program is being made only with “political optics” in mind, according to one expert.

“That is all they care about is optics, get more people in, getting them through the ports, not between the ports, so they can say, ‘Look, our numbers at the southwest border are down. We’re doing great,’” Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News Digital.

The comment comes as the Biden administration reportedly looks to revive a program that has allowed tens of thousands of migrants from four nations to fly directly into the U.S. despite the program being paused last month for what NBC News reported as “mass fraud.”

The program allowed migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to apply for entry and temporary work authorization with the support of a sponsor who pledged to financially back the migrants once they arrived in the United States.

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Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

But the program was “temporarily paused” last month to allow the Department of Homeland Security to conduct “a review of supporter applications” of “sponsors,” with an initial review finding that 3,218 of the roughly 101,000 applications were filed by “serial sponsors” who raise suspicion by sponsoring several migrants from the same street addresses, IP addresses or phone numbers.

In one example uncovered by the review, officials found that nearly 600 applications were flagged because they appeared to use the same commercial warehouse address in Orlando, Florida. In another case, the review found a “concerning trend” from nine IP addresses that were potentially sponsoring many more women than men. In one of those cases, one IP address was linked to applications to sponsor females as young as 14, with 14 in total being under the age of 18.

The decision to restart the program comes despite 30,000 applications left for officials to review, though the NBC News report noted the administration was eager to get the program running again because it is believed to help deter migrants from instead making the journey to the southern border.

While the strategy to jumpstart the program may work to temporarily alleviate illegal border crossings, Ries acknowledged, the rationale for using the program for that purpose is purely political.

Joe Biden at lectern with US, presidential flags behind him

President Biden speaks during an event with the National Governors Association in the East Room of the White House Feb. 23, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

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The move comes at a critical juncture of this year’s presidential election, with Vice President Kamala Harris attempting to carve out a tougher image on the border as voter frustrations with the Biden administration’s handling of its security mount.

Worse yet, Ries argued, the administration’s vow to more thoroughly vet sponsors is unlikely to lead to any meaningful change.

“No one should believe them,” Ries said, pointing to the continued controversy over the vetting of refugees after the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan. “This administration is not interested in thorough vetting. They just give it lip service because they have to when their inevitable problems emerge and they are called out on it.”

Migrants walk along a highway through Suchiate, Chiapas state, in southern Mexico, July 21, 2024, during their journey north toward the U.S. border (AP Photo/Edgar H. Clemente)

That lack of thorough vetting, including sponsors, could lead to dangerous outcomes, Ries warned.

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“You’re going to have more trafficked people, more trafficked children, more abuse, more crime and more illegal immigration,” Ries said. “Americans suffer for that, whether it’s from crime or the taxes that have to be spent or are being spent to pay for these people’s shelter, education, health care and housing.”

The White House and Harris campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment by publication time.

Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.

Michael Lee is a writer for Fox News. Prior to joining Fox News, Michael worked for the Washington Examiner, Bongino.com, and Unbiased America. He has covered politics for more than eight years.

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