MIAMI – Immigration attorney Willy Allen is in favor of President Biden’s new asylum policy affecting migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua.
“This is a brilliant solution to eliminate, or should eliminate, so many illegal entries,” he said.
The policy announced earlier this week awards 30,000 paroles to people from those countries as a way to deter them from coming here illegally.
“I see it as an opportunity for Cubans to come in the correct way,” said Allen.
Emilio González is a former Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and he feels differently than Allen.
“From a policy perspective, it makes no sense,” Gonzalez said, adding that he believes this will encourage more Cubans to take to the sea. “Because if they land, the minute they land they can at least get into a process for asylum.”
But Allen believes fewer will come because those coming by sea are being given removal documents, or order of deportations, not paroles, meaning they have to file for asylum and hope they’ll be allowed to stay.
“I think most rafters will quickly find that even if they touch ground, their expectations of getting legalized in a close future is close to zero,” said Allen.
Allen says the biggest loss will be for the Cubans coming through Mexico, many of them selling everything to afford the journey, only to be immediately turned back at the border.