DeSantis’ office scathes migrant flights into Florida by Biden admin, vows to fight back

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The bulk of the 386,000 illegal immigrants permitted to fly to interior U.S. airports as part of a contentious parole and release admissions program have reportedly been directed to Florida.

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, President Joe Biden’s controversial admissions program has facilitated the transportation of over 386,000 migrants through February of this year to interior U.S. airports, since it launched in October 2022.

“The federal government is encouraging illegal immigration and even aiding these individuals to enter the country,” said Bryan Griffin, communications director for Gov. Ron DeSantis. “They’ve cloaked these secretive flights as a lawful parole program. The state of Florida is fighting back in Court to end this practice and stop the federal government’s illegal immigrant importation efforts.”

The group reports the information came from government documents listed under the “CHNV program” or the “Advanced Travel Authorization” program.

“This is but one of the many examples of how Biden’s egregious and unlawful immigration policies are disproportionately taxing the resources of certain states,” Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a statement to Florida’s Voice. “As with Biden’s other unlawful policies, we will continue to fight the CHNV program in court.”

The program, launched with questionable legal standing, purports to curtail unlawful border crossings by transporting individuals directly over the southern border into the interior, subsequently granting them parole upon arrival.

The Biden administration’s reasoning for the program was to “reduce the number of individuals crossing unlawfully between ports of entry.”

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, the Department of Homeland Security under Biden has opted not to disclose the list of numerous U.S. airports where it has sanctioned these direct flights from overseas for specific inadmissible individuals.

However, an analysis conducted by the center with publicly available data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s website, specifically focusing on encounters by Office of Field Operations airport customs officers with the designated nationalities eligible for the program, highlighted the airports that likely accommodate a significant portion of arrivals from overseas.

Initial indications point to a potential majority of these migrant travelers arriving at international airports within the jurisdiction of Florida. Florida emerges as the primary destination and customs processing hub for this parole-and-release program via direct flights, with nearly 326,000 arrivals recorded from its inception through February of this year.

The data analysis further reveals that smaller numbers of arrivals were observed in areas encompassing Houston, New York, both northern and southern California and the Washington, D.C. vicinity. However, the data indicates that Florida experiences the highest volume of initial landings and subsequent releases of migrants.

Launched initially for individuals from Venezuela and extended in January 2023 to include nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Colombia, the program grants approvals for flight travel for individuals aiming to illegally cross the border, but are still situated in other countries.

Instead of attempting to cross the southern border unlawfully, these individuals arrange commercial airline passage for themselves and receive temporary, easily renewable “humanitarian parole” from Customs and Border Protection officers upon arrival at the airport. Participants in the parole program are also eligible for renewable work permits.

In 2023, the program expanded its eligibility criteria to include individuals from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Ecuador, bringing the total number of eligible nationalities to nine.

The report also said that from FY 2023 through February 2024, approximately 306,505 individuals, primarily from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, arrived via flight into the jurisdiction of the Miami Field Office, which encompasses the southern region of Florida.

During the same period, the Tampa Field Office, responsible for the remaining areas of Florida, handled an additional 19,490 passengers. This brings the total number of presumed humanitarian parole grants by U.S. customs in international airports in Florida to 325,995.

Among these beneficiaries were 3,821 individuals from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, and Ecuador.

According to the report, the majority of individuals arriving at Florida airports, as well as other regions, are single adults, although a significant number also arrive as part of family units.

Florida lawmakers and DeSantis have taken several steps to stop the flow of illegals coming into the state both in the courts and with legislation. DeSantis has also sent additional assets and personnel to the state’s southern border.

“The efforts in Florida are making this state an undesirable destination for anyone in the country illegally. Since taking office, Governor DeSantis has championed the state’s efforts to enact private-sector E-Verify, increase penalties for human trafficking and smuggling, and crack down on illegal aliens who commit crimes,” said Jeremy Redfern, press secretary for DeSantis.