Fraudsters target migrants hoping to take advantage of Biden’s parole program

MIAMI — When Maurys Hernandez’s cousin found her a job taking care of an elderly lady in the United States, it was a long-awaited opportunity to create a better life for her two young daughters outside of Venezuela.

But the 38-year-old mother from the coastal state of Anzoátegui did not want to risk her family’s life by crossing the treacherous Darién jungle between Panama and Colombia. And her relatives and friends in the U.S. did not qualify to sponsor her through a new humanitarian program launched a year ago by the Biden administration to curtail illegal migration from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua.

So Hernandez turned to the internet to find a sponsor, a key requirement to join the program. She scoured social media until she found what appeared to be an immigration consulting agency on Instagram.

“We have our secret so that the process goes quickly,” a man who identified himself as Ricardo told Hernandez over Whatsapp messages, promising to get her and her young daughters to the U.S. in exchange for $5,200. In a later message, he assured her: “We will not let you down.”

Ricardo told her that there was a “90% chance she would arrive before New Year’s Day. Two months later, after her initial payments, Hernandez and her kids are still in Venezuela. The “consultants” stopped responding to her endless stream of phone calls and texts asking for updates on her case. Eventually, they told her they had withdrawn her sponsor because she had complained about them on Facebook.

“Unfortunately, because of what you said on social media that we had scammed you, that reached the eyes of the sponsors, so they decided to cancel the process,” Ricardo said. “I imagine you got desperate, you didn’t trust us.”

Hernandez told the Herald she still hasn’t gotten her money back despite being told she would be reimbursed.

“I have cried so much. I was so excited to go and make a better life for my daughters. They practically threw me against the floor,” said Hernandez, who is among the would-be migrants falling prey to unscrupulous scammers exploiting the humanitarian parole program.

From the launch of the two-year humanitarian program in October 2021 through November, over 297,000 Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans have legally arrived in the United States. The program started with just Venezuela and expanded in January 2023 to include the other three countries. It allows migrants to come live and work in the United States as long as they have a financial sponsor, pay their own airfare and pass health and background checks. It’s of no cost to sponsors or beneficiaries to access the program and apply.

Immigration advocates, however, who say the backlog of applicants has been as high as much as about 1.7 million, is fueling a number of immigration schemes targeting people’s desperation. The Department of Homeland Security evaluates half the sponsorship applications based on when people applied, and the other half through a lottery system. DHS says it made the change due to “high interest.”

A web of online schemes has emerged as scammers and grifters offer paid services to fill out the free applications, secure sponsors and even speed up the application process. They post photos of happy, reunited families holding American flag balloons at airports, as “proof” that their services are legitimate.

The Department of Homeland Security is aware of bad actors who are attempting to profit off the program and says that it runs background checks sponsors and parolees. It lists a series of common scams on their websites. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services warns that people should be suspicious of others saying on social media that they are immigration officials or that they will guide them through the application process for a fee, among other fraud schemes.

Hernandez, the Venezuelan woman hoping to become a caretaker in the U.S., shared the Whatsapp messages and voice notes she exchanged with the alleged consultants with the Miami Herald. She sent the apparent consulting agency copies of her and her children’s passports and IDs, as well as their home address. A loved one in the United States sent the agency a first payment of $1,450 to an account they provided, according to screenshots of the transaction. Over voice notes, they guided her on how to create an account on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

But as the weeks went by, no updates came. Hernandez grew more desperate, and she asked for developments on her case. The couple told her that they knew hackers who could break into the parole program application database and bump her up. But it would cost her more money.

Hernandez said she started growing suspicious as the weeks went by and started investigating with her friend how the parole process actually worked. Some schemes like the one Hernandez fell victim to advertised full package services, including a sponsor, airfare, and support filling out the paperwork. The alleged immigration consultants did not reply to a request for comment over Whatsapp or Facebook from the Miami Herald.

An Instagram post associated with the people Hernandez paid says they will receive you at the airport. Another claims that “our service is 100% guaranteed without scams or tricks.” It was cheap compared to other online offers, said Hernandez. Another offer she saw asked for as much $15,000 for sponsorship and paperwork alone.

“Scammers typically try to create confusion by either complicating information that’s already out there or creating false information about the process,” said Monna Kashfi of Welcome.US, an online platform that mobilizes Americans to sponsor parole program beneficiaries and refugees. As of Jan. 8, the organization had brought over 2,300 people to the United States, including Haitians, Ukrainians, Venezuelans, Cubans, and Nicaraguans.

“It’s really difficult to estimate the pervasiveness of the scams because they are very likely underreported,” said Kashfi, who is vice president of Welcome.US content and communications.

This spring, the company identified a handful of scammers attempting to create “shell accounts” and trying to sell access on their platform, which is supposed to be free. The company, which has a series of security measures to combat fraud, quickly investigated and shut out the fake accounts, said Kashfi.

“The top things to keep in mind is that there is no fee associated with accessing the processes. So anytime you’re being asked for any kind of money to either, you know, access the platform, file the form, get an expedited review of your application — that should raise a red flag,” Kashfi said. “Beneficiaries are never obligated to repay, reimburse, work for, provide any kind of service, marry or otherwise compensate anyone in exchange for sponsorship.”

But hopeful migrants, desperate to come to the United States, continue advertising on Facebook and other social media platforms that they are in the market for a sponsor, making themselves vulnerable to fraud.

“I am looking for a sponsor and when I arrive I will pay whatever they ask as I work, please,” reads one post. Another comment is from a Cuban doctor who says she needs a sponsor. Another with a photo of a woman in shorts says: “I am looking for patrons, when I reach over there I will work even if I have to pay twice as much.”

Hernandez, the Venezuelan mother of two, publicly denounced the scam on Facebook, and warned other people to steer clear of fraudulent activity related to the parole program. A seemingly kind woman said she was sorry, according to a recording of a chat reviewed by the Miami Herald. Then, she offered to help Hernandez come to the United States for a low initial payment of $300 for each member of her family.

Hernandez again shared her passports and other private information. But wary of falling into another scam, she eventually declined.