Illegal migrants are buying access to the Biden administration's parole program for $5,000 in Nicaragua, according to The Washington Times.
For $1,000 upfront, smugglers put would-be parolees in touch with Americans who are willing to claim they are a financial sponsor on federal forms. Migrants pay the remaining $4,000 balance and head for the U.S. after the Department of Homeland Security approves the sponsor.
"Parole is being sold on the open market," one source who saw the operation in action in Nicaragua told the Times.
The pay-for-parole in Nicaragua undoubtedly is happening in other countries, according to former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Emilio Gonzalez.
"If there's a way to monetize this, people will figure it out," he said. "This just stinks all over."
Migrants coming from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela receive preferential treatment under Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' CHNV program.
Up to 30,000 people a month were able to bypass the border and fly directly into U.S. airports, where they were granted a two-year parole pass under the CHNV program, the Times reported.
To be eligible, migrants must have a person or organization in the U.S. who pledges to support them financially if they are unable to support themselves. Those who don't have family or other connections can be put in touch with a sponsor.
The Biden administration told the Times that migrants are "not encouraged" to enter into such deals, but did not say they were in violation of the rules.
USCIS warned migrants to adopt a "buyer beware" attitude and to watch for scams.
"Look out for individuals who attempt to contact you online or through your social media accounts to offer to be your supporter or connect you to a supporter in exchange for a fee or other form of compensation," the agency said, according to the Times.
USCIS also said all applications are scrutinized in an effort to weed out scammers.
"The agency carefully vets every prospective supporter through a series of fraud- and security-based screening measures before confirming a properly submitted [financial support form]. Additionally, USCIS thoroughly reviews each reported case of fraud or misconduct, and may refer those cases to federal law enforcement for additional investigation," the agency said in a statement.
Experts told the Times that the problem is that USCIS does not have the ability to investigate if sponsors are doing what they promised.
"So, what they've done is they've set up this thing that looks like it's a requirement, that looks like it's preventing people from gaming the system, and it's another avenue for gaming the system," said former immigration judge Matthew O'Brien, now the director of research at the Immigration Reform Law Institute. "Nobody's verifying whether anybody can pay, or prosecuting them when they can't, or prosecuting them when an alien goes on public benefits."