Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan (R-OH) on Tuesday sent a letter demanding information from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the Haitian migrant accused of raping a 15-year-old disabled girl in Massachusetts earlier this month.
Cory Alvarez, 26, was arraigned last Thursday and pleaded not guilty to aggravated rape of a child at a hotel that was set up as a migrant shelter. The teenage girl, who is also a Haitian and was living in the same hotel, told police through an interpreter that she went to Alvarez’s room so he could help her with her tablet before he forced himself on her. Alvarez flew into John F. Kennedy International Airport last June after being sponsored by someone in the U.S. under a Biden administration program that allows up to 30,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans to fly into the country each month, Fox News reported.
In the letter — which was also signed by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement — the congressmen said the Biden administration was running an “illegal categorical parole program” for migrants.
“Criminal aliens exploit vulnerabilities in our nation’s immigration system to the detriment of those in the United States,” the letter states. “The Biden Administration’s border and immigration policies only increase the likelihood that criminal aliens will successfully enter and remain in the U.S.”
The letter demands that Mayorkas hand over information on Alvarez, such as his immigration history and detention status, immigration benefits application, and “the time, date, and place of any and all of the alien’s entries into the United States.” Jordan and McClintock also want information on the sponsorship request from the person who was financially responsible for Alvarez’s flight to the U.S.
The Republican lawmakers added that they want to know “whether CBP officials were alerted to derogatory information about the alien and what questions were asked of the alien during the screening process.”
Mayorkas has until 5:00 p.m. on April 2 to hand over the requested information, per the letter’s request.
James Covington, a spokesman for Boston Enforcement and Removal Operations of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said that Alvarez entered the U.S. lawfully and ICE placed an immigration detainer on him following his arrest for the alleged rape, The Boston Herald reported.
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Massachusetts Democratic Governor Maura Healey also said the Haitian migrant entered the country “lawfully under the federal government through a federal program” but did not specify which program it was.
“We have security and systems in place. We have vetting in place. It is unfortunate that from time to time, things will happen … anywhere, not just in shelter, but anywhere,” Healey said. “This is an allegation of sexual assault and rape. It’s one that we take very seriously. I’m glad that law enforcement was right on it.”
Biden’s controversial migrant parole program, known as CHNV, allows Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans to apply for “advanced authorization to travel and a temporary period of parole for up to two years.” The program has been challenged by more than 20 Republican-led states that filed a lawsuit earlier this month alleging it forced states to spend millions of dollars on health care, education, and public safety.
U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton, however, said the states did not show they had suffered any financial harm because of the program, the Associated Press reported.
Tipton clarified, “In reaching this conclusion, the Court does not address the lawfulness of the Program.”
BREAKING: Per DHS sources to me & @GriffJenkins, the Haitian man arrested for raping a 15 y/o disabled girl at a migrant hotel in Massachusetts Wednesday night came to the U.S. via the Biden admin’s parole program for Haitians, which allowed him to fly into JFK airport in NYC… pic.twitter.com/Kt4c4hU4Qn
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 15, 2024