White House Expands Refugee Acceptance for Foreign Nationals in Mexico

The White House has agreed to accept Cuban, Nicaraguan, Haitian, and Venezuelan nationals living in Mexico as refugee resettlement referrals, as part of its strategy to provide more legal pathways for migrants and reduce chaos at the southern border. The Biden administration has increased the refugee cap to 125,000 and implemented a humanitarian parole program allowing up to 30,000 migrants from these countries to fly directly into the U.S. Additionally, up to 1,450 migrants per day are being allowed into the U.S. via parole if they have an appointment at a port of entry. Republicans have criticized these expansions, accusing the administration of abusing parole and digitizing illegal immigration. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended the strategy, stating that it has led to a significant drop in migrant numbers in June.