Pedro Yudel Bruzon was looking for someone in the U.S. to support his effort to seek asylum when he landed on a Facebook page filled with posts demanding up to $10,000 for a financial sponsor.
It's part of an underground market that's emerged since the Biden administration announced it would arriving by air from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti. Applicants for the humanitarian parole program need someone in the U.S., often a friend or relative, to promise to provide financial support for at least two years.
Bruzon, who lives doesn't know anyone who can do that, so he searched online. But he also doesn't have the money to pay for a sponsor and isn't sure the offers 鈥 or those making them 鈥 are real. He worries about being exploited or falling prey to a scam.
鈥淭hey call it humanitarian parole, but it has nothing to do with being humanitarian,鈥 said Bruzon, who said he struggles to feed himself and his mother with what he makes as a 33-year-old Havana security guard. 鈥淓veryone wants money, even people in the same family.鈥
It鈥檚 unclear how many people in the United States may have charged migrants to sponsor them, but Facebook groups with names like 鈥淪ponsors U.S.鈥 carry dozens of posts offering and seeking financial supporters.
Several immigration attorneys said they could find no specific law prohibiting people from charging money to sponsor beneficiaries.
鈥淎s long as everything is accurate on the form and there are no fraudulent statements it may be legal,鈥 said lawyer Taylor Levy, who long worked along the border around El Paso, Texas. 鈥淏ut what worries me are the risks in terms of being trafficked and exploited. If lying is involved, it could be fraud.鈥
Also, she noted, it 鈥渟eems counterintuitive鈥 to pay someone to promise to provide financial support.
Attorney Leon Fresco, a former top aide to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, said charging to be a sponsor is a 鈥済ray area鈥 and the U.S. should send a forceful message against the practice.
Kennji Kizuka, an attorney and director of asylum policy for the International Rescue Committee, which resettles newcomers in the United States, said this type of thing happens with every new U.S. program benefitting migrants.
鈥淚t looks like some are just going to take people鈥檚 money and the people are going to get nothing in return,鈥 Kizuka said.
Levy said such exploitation surrounding a similar U.S. program for Ukrainians prompted the government to publish an online guide about
One common scheme with immigration programs is known as and involves people who call themselves 鈥渘otarios p煤blicos鈥 charging large sums. In Latin America, the term refers to attorneys with special credentials, leading lead migrants to believe they are lawyers who can provide legal advice. In the U.S., notaries public are merely empowered to witness the signing of legal documents and issue oaths.
In another scheme, someone poses as a U.S. official asking for money. The notes: 鈥淲e do not accept Western Union, MoneyGram, PayPal, or gift cards as payment for immigration fees.鈥
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services warns about potential scams with that was rolled out last month and notes online that the program is free.
鈥淔ulfilling our humanitarian mission while upholding the integrity of the immigration system is a top priority for USCIS,鈥 the agency said in response to questions about the potential for exploitation. It says the agency 鈥渃arefully vets every prospective supporter through a series of fraud- and security-based screening measures.鈥
鈥淎dditionally, USCIS thoroughly reviews each reported case of fraud or misconduct and may refer those cases to federal law enforcement for additional investigation,鈥 the statement said.
The agency did not address whether any application has been rejected because of concerns that potential sponsors might be requesting money.
The Department of Homeland Security says 1,700 humanitarian parole applications were accepted as of Jan. 25 from Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans, plus an undisclosed number of Venezuelans. A Texas-led which could allow 360,000 people a year to enter the U.S. legally.
One Facebook post advertising paid sponsorships led to a person who identified himself as an American citizen living in Pensacola, Florida. Told he was communicating with a journalist, the person refused to talk on the phone and would only text.
The person told The Associated Press he had sponsored a Cuban uncle and aunt for $10,000 each. He refused to provide contact information for those relatives, then stopped responding to questions.
Another would-be sponsor said via Facebook messenger that they charge $2,000 per person, which includes a sponsorship fee, document processing and an airline ticket. Requests for more information were answered with a phone number from the Dominican Republic that rang unanswered.
A man who posted seeking a sponsor told the AP that he was disturbed by some offers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very easy to trick a desperate person and there are an abundance of them here,鈥 the man, who identified himself as Pedro Manuel Carmenate, of Havana, said. 鈥淵ou just have to tell the people what they want to hear.鈥
Of course, not all sponsors charge a fee. A new initiative called aims to to migrants without supporters. Also, nonprofit organizations are trying to spread accurate information about the program.
Sarah Ivory, executive director of the nonprofit USAHello that provides online information in said the proliferation of offers for paid sponsorship is 鈥渄eeply troubling and frustratingly predictable,鈥 reflected in hundreds of queries to the group.
鈥淢any report that they barely have the money to feed themselves, much less pay to get a passport or arrange a sponsor,鈥 Ivory said.
Such desperation is reflected on social media.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking for a sponsor for two people please, my husband is in a wheelchair,鈥 reads a post from someone who says she lives in Havana. 鈥淚 will give my house with everything inside and I鈥檒l pay $4,000 for each鈥 person sponsored.
