“It looks as if the secretary by his own pen let in tens of thousands of people without any corresponding support programs,” Turner said. “That is going to be our No. 1 issue to address, is the origins of this program and the lack of support for communities.”
>> Work permits still a challenge for Springfield Haitian immigrants
According to a DHS official hundreds of thousands of immigrants “have followed lawful pathways and orderly processes instead of crossing illegally between ports of entry” as a result of DHS’ policies.
Individuals must pass vetting and background checks in order to receive permission to enter the country.
Turner said: “What we’re finding is that through the federal registry, the Department of Homeland Security promulgated regulations that established a non-congressionally authorized immigration program. Our concern here, obviously, is that it appears that this is an unauthorized program and, therefore, there are insufficient resources and funds to help the community to respond.”
The process provides a temporary legal parole status for up to two years, allowing Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans to live and work legally in the U.S. During this time, they can seek out Temporary Protected Status, work permits or other legalization processes.
According to DHS data, from May to September 2023, DHS “removed or returned” 360,000 noncitizens from the U.S. — more than any other five-month period in the past 10 years.
Turner and U.S. Rep. Mike Carey — a fellow Republican who represents the other portion of Clark County in the 15th District — sent a letter to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas requesting documentation of every individual approval decision for a Haitian parolee since the program’s creation, documentation of each analysis for these approvals, the criteria DHS requires from Haitians to make parole status decisions, the procedures DHS has to maintain information on Haitians on parole in the U.S., the data it maintains on where these people live and the data it keeps on where they work.
The congressmen asked to receive the information by the end of the day Feb. 28.
Turner and Carey wrote additional programs DHS created allow Haitians to remain in the U.S. “indefinitely” under protected status.
The parole process began in January 2023 and was modeled on the Uniting for Ukraine and Process for Venezuelans and “for certain Haitian nationals to lawfully enter the United States in a safe and orderly manner and be considered for a case-by-case determination of parole.”
Turner told the News-Sun the policy is an overreach and Mayorkas and DHS do not have the authority to create and promote such a program.
Twenty-one states, including Ohio and led by Texas, are suing DHS in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, saying that DHS’s “parole power is exceptionally limited, having been curtailed by Congress multiple times, and can be used only on a case-by-case basis ... “
The states argue the parole program allows immigrants to obtain advance authorization to enter the United States — “despite no other basis in law for them doing so.”
According to DHS, Democratic and Republican administrations have used parole authority on “a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”
Turner also penned a letter to Springfield Mayor Rob Rue ahead of Rue’s visit to Washington D.C. to meet with Turner and the DHS to discuss issues the city is facing and potential solutions and assistance the government can provide. He has been meeting with Springfield’s Immigration Accountability Response Team.
“DHS, having created this program, bears responsibility for the costs and impacts upon affected communities,” Turner wrote. “Our meeting will focus on the issue of funding the impacts to Springfield.”
Since the lifting of Title 42, which allowed the U.S. to remove people who had recently been in a country with a communicable disease, the DHS spokesperson said the country experienced a reduction in “irregular migration” and proved “providing an incentive of lawful pathways with tougher consequences works.”
According to the DHS, total DHS repatriations were up 154% in fiscal year 2023 compared to fiscal years 2014-2019.
Turner told the News-Sun some of the major issues that he finds most concerning are the pressures the population is having on the school system, the need for financial assistance, support in healthcare and obtaining work permits.
Bryan Heck, Springfield city manager, said at a regular city commission meeting last week the immigration response team is still working to identify issues and create solutions, including working with the state to establish a driver’s education program for Haitians and young drivers. This follows a fatal bus crash in which a Haitian immigrant is accused of crashing into a school bus and killing 11-year-old Aiden Clark.
He said previously these immigrants are filling a need in the community.
“They are working in our community. I know in working with the Haitian leaders, they want to assimilate into our culture,” Heck said. “They want to be engaged and involved.”
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