(BOSTON 7/1/2024) — Last week, a bipartisan group of 11 Massachusetts State Senators, led by Second Worcester District Senator Michael Moore and Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, sent a letter to Governor Maura Healey and Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Edward Augustus Jr. calling for accountability for those who have made commitments to provide financial support for migrants but have not fulfilled that commitment. In order to qualify for the Humanitarian Parole Program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (the “Humanitarian Parole Program”), applicants are required to obtain a financial sponsor within the United States who is able to provide financial support for their housing, basic necessities, paperwork, healthcare, and schooling. The letter requests that the Governor and Secretary gather statistical information about how many families currently being supported by the Commonwealth have a declared financial sponsor, and to then seek reimbursement for the public dollars that have been spent to support those individuals, which should have been covered by their financial sponsor.
The recent inflow of migrants into Massachusetts has presented financial and logistical challenges for the Commonwealth to support these individuals while their various claims for residency are evaluated by the federal government. In Fiscal Year 2024, Massachusetts is on track to spend over $1 billion on programs to house, feed, and support the nearly 7,500 families – about half of them migrants – within the Commonwealth’s emergency housing system, and lawmakers are seeking to budget nearly $900 million for the program in FY25.
The letter explains that while Massachusetts has gone above and beyond to accommodate the recent inflow of migrants, two groups may not be fulfilling their obligations – the United States Federal Government and individuals who have pledged to financially support migrants who were admitted to the country under the Humanitarian Parole Program. The letter, addressing the Governor and Secretary, states, “we appreciate the pressure you have placed on the federal government, and we continue to hope that Congress will act; however, we ask that you also seek to hold to account those who have legally committed themselves to provide financial support for these migrants.”
“In the absence of any action from the United States Government to support communities providing housing, food, and support to migrant families during the recent immigration crisis, Massachusetts taxpayers have been footing the bill. It is plainly unfair that taxpayers are supporting individuals who are here under a program that requires, under penalty of perjury, a specific person or organization commit to financially support them,” said Senator Michael Moore (D-Millbury). “We owe it to the hardworking residents of Massachusetts to evaluate whether we are paying to support individuals or families here under the Humanitarian Parole Program, and if we are, to seek reimbursement from the sponsors who have abandoned their financial responsibility. While we are a country and a Commonwealth that welcomes and celebrates immigration, we need to ensure that the cost of supporting these families does not threaten our financial stability, especially if others have made a legal commitment to do so.”
“Our immigration system needs to have integrity and that means transparency and accountability for commitments made for financial support,” said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester). “Ensuring that the people who make those commitments follow through not only secures integrity, it also provides critical resources for a system this painfully overburdened”
On January 5th, 2023, the Biden Administration announced the Humanitarian Parole Program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, an initiative designed to provide pathways for up to 30,000 nationals of the four nations each month to come to the United States for a period of two years to live and work lawfully. The program requires that eligible applicants pass a background check and declare a sponsor in the United States who will provide them financial support, so long as they have not attempted to enter the United States without authorization after the announcement of the program.
As part of the qualifications for the Humanitarian Parole Program, applicants are required to have a US-based financial sponsor submit a “Certification of Individual Agreeing to Financially Support the Beneficiary” form. This form certifies that, under penalty of perjury, the sponsor is willing and able to financially support the applicant’s needs, including:
Receiving the beneficiary upon arrival in the United States and transporting them to initial housing;
Ensuring that the beneficiary has safe and appropriate housing for the duration of their parole and initial basic necessities;
As appropriate, helping the beneficiary complete necessary paperwork such as for employment authorization, for a Social Security card, and for services for which they may be eligible;
Ensuring that the beneficiary’s health care and medical needs are met for the duration of the parole; and
As appropriate, assisting the beneficiary with accessing education, learning English, securing employment, and enrolling children in school.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services further requires the demonstration of financial capacity to support the applicant, which may include the submission of federal income tax filings, bank statements, W-2 forms, pay stubs, or any other proof of income. These documents will be independently verified by government officials before an application is approved under the Humanitarian Parole Program.
Under this context, the letter states, “considering the financial sponsor requirement and the specific commitments made by the financial sponsor as part of the certification, it is unclear why the Commonwealth may be covering some or all of the necessary expenses of these migrants instead in partnership with financial sponsors who – under penalty of perjury – have expressly certified that they are willing and able to provide that financial support.” It goes on to request that the Commonwealth, after gathering statistical information about the number of families and individuals in the Emergency Housing Assistance Program who have a financial sponsor, then seek reimbursement from financial sponsors for any funds spent by the government to support beneficiaries of the Humanitarian Parole Program that should have been covered. If the sponsor will not reimburse the Commonwealth, the letter asks that the Administration evaluate all legal options to recover those funds. Further, the letter requests an update on these evaluations and processes prior to the Legislature’s consideration of an expected FY25 supplemental budget related to the operation of the Emergency Housing Assistance Program.
The letter was signed by Senators Michael Moore, Bruce Tarr, Walter Timilty, Peter Durant, John Velis, John Cronin, Edward Kennedy, Michael Brady, Patrick O’Connor, Ryan Fattman, and Marc Pacheco. Further information on the Humanitarian Parole Program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans can be found online here.
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