By Greg Haas, KLAS, Oct 8, 2024
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Gov. Joe Lombardo was among 25 Republican governors who signed a letter criticizing the Biden-Harris administration over asylum policies that have brought more than a half-million immigrants into the United States.
The Tuesday letter targets policies that have allowed Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans into the country legally, citing figures from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that say nearly 530,000 immigrants from these countries have arrived through the end of August. DHS reports this breakdown of immigrants who have actually arrived lawfully and were granted parole:
- 210,000 Haitians
- 117,000 Venezuelans
- 110,000 Cubans
- 93,000 Nicaraguans
An additional 12,000 immigrants from those countries have been vetted and authorized for travel. An immigrant who is granted asylum is referred to as a parolee if they are granted humanitarian parole, which is a temporary authorization to enter or remain in the country.
The letter comes after JD Vance, former President Donald Trump’s running mate, repeated false claims in early September about Haitian immigrants eating the pets of residents in Springfield, Ohio. Congressman Steven Horsford (D-Nev.)called for the censure of a House Republican, Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins, who continued with the debunked narrative.
“As chief executives of our states directly responsible for the safety of our citizens and those who reside within our borders, we require a full accounting from the Biden-Harris Administration and DHS of the location and legal status of the parolee populations in our states,” the letter said.
“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 the parolees. We also ask what system DHS has in place to monitor migrants and their sponsors and what assistance DHS is providing migrants.”
Republican governors take Biden and Harris to task for what they call a “poorly administered” asylum program. The cite a lack of coordination and sharing of information that has led to “confusion and alarm” among local officials.
“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,” according to the letter. “After being met with understandable skepticism from the communities in which they are now living, migrants have become fearful to interact with the public. This isolation has created a ripe environment for their exploitation and abuse.”