The recent decision by a federal judge to maintain humanitarian parole pleased many Cubans, but what continues to worry is the delay in processing applications, one of the aspects that has been most criticized since the program began in January 2023. .
The question that many are asking now is whether the support received for parole by a federal judge in Texas will allow more agility in the resolution of cases.
However, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security He denied that the decision in favor of the humanitarian parole program will mean an acceleration in the processing of cases.
“Since the program was announced we were very clear that 30,000 cases will be processed per month, and that is what has been done. That is, there will be no changes in the speed or how cases are processed: 50% according to the date of application and 50% random,” a spokesperson responded to a query made by Telemundo 51.
This means a call to remain calm and cultivate patience and faith.
“I’m very excited. I’ve been waiting a year. They are from January 12. A year and almost two months. It’s very exciting. I’ve been in this country for eight years trying to get them to be here with me, and finally we did it. Thanks to the parole,” said a Cuban woman excitedly in statements to journalist Alexis Boentes for the aforementioned media outlet.
“We were very afraid… we spent a year waiting to see if they would remove it, yes, no. Very, very desperate”admitted another of the Cubans while waiting for his family at the Miami Airport.
“We had been there for a year or so. I had practically run out of strength, but thank God at the last minute we made it. “God’s timing is perfect,” stated a third.
In recent days a short video of a small Cuban girl asking the president of the United States, Joe Biden, to finish receiving her parole to escape the blackouts on the island went viral on social networks, where thousands have identified with the feeling of helplessness expressed by the minor.
“Mr. Biden, I can’t stand this heat anymore, I want you to give me parole,” the girl could be heard saying in the images, recorded in the middle of one of the many blackouts that in recent days have pushed Cubans to the limit in amidst a context of growing economic crisis.
In the last 13 months of operation of the program, only around 75,000 Cubans have been able to emigrate to the United States through humanitarian parole, according to official figures from the US Department of Homeland Security, a figure that is much lower than the almost 400,000. applications that had been received until December 2023.
The good news is that, despite the slowness in the processing and resolution of the applications, last Friday federal judge Drew Tipton of the court of Victoria, in Texas, decided that The humanitarian parole program for Cuba, Venezuela and Haiti will be maintained.
The judge’s decision was based on the fact that the 21 Republican states that sued the federal government when the program began could not demonstrate that the parole had brought them significant damages.
The aforementioned states, including Florida, argued that the humanitarian parole forced them to spend millions of dollars on medical care, education and public safety for immigrants.
However, the judge assured that, on the contrary, in Texas, the state that led the lawsuit, costs in several programs decreased after the parole came into effect.
Recently, President Joe Biden’s administration assured that I would fight to maintain the humanitarian parolean initiative that has contributed to controlling the irregular migratory flow across the southern border with Mexico.
