Punked Fail
:{3 24 tentative cat
see punked loop exploit
merri ok}:
see disinfo
---
---
actually he wd not care if fake/foreign?
an 12 25
Over the Christmas holiday, it was clear that President Donald Trump spent a lot of time on his social media. Many of the things he amplified in his 150 posts, however, turned out to be from foreign trolls.
The Daily Beast wrote Tuesday about Trump's posting frenzy, calling him "confused" and highlighting his advanced age. It cited research done into the posts by the MeidasNetwork, showing that at least 15 of the people Trump promoted weren't posting from the United States.
Sami Nathaniel, for example, got five of his posts shared by Trump, including one calling America "for Americans." Yet, he was posting from South Asia.
Trump frequently reposts memes and comments from South Asia accounts “Sami Nathaniel” and “Caroline."
Charlie's Voice Rising, another X account that has a blue checkmark, only joined the site in Dec. 2024. That individual is tweeting to its 194,400-plus followers from "Eastern Europe (Non-EU)."
"Trump Girl" features a white person with long blond hair and a MAGA hat. They're also tweeting from South Asia. Trump shared a screenshot of one of her X posts, which is a share of one of Trump's posts about the "STOLEN" election.
This isn't the first time Trump has amplified accounts from foreign accounts pretending to love him. In one late-night spree at the start of the month, Trump posted 160 things in under four hours.
The details displayed about the user come from Elon Musk's recent decision to show where each account was registered, when it was created, how often it has switched usernames and how the app was downloaded. It also details where someone might be trying to circumvent monitoring attempts. Caroline, for example, shows that X believes the user deployed a "VPN," or Virtual Private Network, to mask their true location.
Once the tool was rolled out, a reporter noticed that scores of the top MAGA influencers and right-wing personality accounts weren't posting from the United States. Each of them was fishing for likes and shares.
---
By ERIC TUCKER, MATTHEW LEE and DAVID KLEPPER
Updated 6:58 PM PDT, September 4, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration seized Kremlin-run websites and charged two Russian state media employees in its most sweeping effort yet to push back against what it says are Russian attempts to spread disinformation ahead of the November presidential election.
The measures, which in addition to indictments also included sanctions and visa restrictions, represented a U.S. government effort just weeks before the November election to disrupt a persistent threat from Russia that American officials have long warned has the potential to sow discord and create confusion among voters.
Washington has said that Moscow, which intelligence officials have said has a preference for Republican Donald Trump, remains the primary threat to elections even as the FBI continues to investigate a hack by Iran this year that targeted the presidential campaigns of both political parties.
- AP’s Role:The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
“The Justice Department’s message is clear: We will have no tolerance for attempts by authoritarian regimes to exploit our democratic systems of government,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
One criminal case disclosed by the Justice Department accuses two employees of RT, a Russian state media company, of covertly funding a Tennessee-based content creation company with nearly $10 million to publish English-language videos on social media platforms including TikTok and YouTube with messages in favor of the Russia government’s interests and agenda, including about the war in Ukraine.
The nearly 2,000 videos posted by the company have gotten more than 16 million views on YouTube alone, prosecutors said.
RELATED COVERAGE
Right-wing influencers were duped to work for covert Russian influence operation, US says
EU ministers take a very public swipe at Hungary over a lack of respect for the bloc’s values
Russian missiles blast Ukrainian military academy and hospital, killing more than 50, officials say
The two defendants, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. They are at large. It was not immediately clear if they had lawyers.
The Justice Department says the company did not disclose that it was funded by RT and that neither it nor its founders registered as required by law as an agent of a foreign principal.
Though the indictment does not name the company, it describes it as a Tennessee-based content creation firm with six commentators and with a website identifying itself as “a network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues.”
That description exactly matches Tenet Media, an online company that hosts videos made by well-known conservative influencers Tim Pool, Benny Johnson and others.
Johnson and Pool both responded with posts on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, calling themselves “victims.” Calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “scumbag,” Pool wrote that “should these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived.”
In his post, Johnson wrote that he had been asked a year ago to provide content to a “media startup.” He said his lawyers negotiated a “standard, arms length deal, which was later terminated.”
Tenet Media’s shows in recent months have featured high-profile conservative guests, including RNC co-chair Lara Trump, former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake.
In the other action, officials announced the seizure of 32 internet domains that were used by the Kremlin to spread Russian propaganda and weaken international support for Ukraine. The websites were designed to look like authentic news sites but were actually fake, with bogus social media personas manufactured to appear as if they belonged to American users.
The Justice Department did not identify which candidate in particular the propaganda campaign was meant to boost. But internal strategy notes from participants in the effort released Wednesday by the Justice Department make clear that Trump was the intended beneficiary, even though the names of the candidates were blacked out.
The proposal for one propaganda project, for instance, states that one of its objectives was to secure a victory for a candidate who is currently out of power and to increase the percentage of Americans who believe the U.S. has been doing too much to support Ukraine. President Joe Biden has strongly supported Ukraine during the invasion by Russia.
Intelligence agencies have previously charged that Russia, which during the 2016 election launched a massive campaign of foreign influence and interference on Trump’s behalf, was using disinformation to try to meddle in this year’s election. The new steps show the depth of those concerns.
“Today’s announcement highlights the lengths some foreign governments go to undermine American democratic institutions,” the State Department said. “But these foreign governments should also know that we will not tolerate foreign malign actors intentionally interfering and undermining free and fair elections.”
The State Department announced it was taking action against several employees of Russian state-owned media outlets, designating them as “foreign missions,” and offering a cash reward for information provided to the U.S. government about foreign election interference.
It also said it was adding media company Rossiya Segodnya and its subsidiaries RIA Novosti, RT, TV-Novosti, Ruptly, and Sputnik to its list of foreign missions. That will require them to register with the U.S. government and disclose their properties and personnel in the U.S.
In a speech last month, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Russia remained the biggest threat to election integrity, accusing Putin and his proxies of “targeting specific voter demographics and swing-state voters to in an effort to manipulate presidential and congressional election outcomes.” Russia, she said was “intent on co-opting unwitting Americans on social media to push narratives advancing Russian interests.”
She struck a similar note Thursday, saying at an Aspen Institute event that the foreign influence threat is more diverse and aggressive than in past years.
“More diverse and aggressive because they involve more actors from more countries than we have ever seen before, operating in a more polarized world than we have ever seen before, all fueled by more technology and accelerated by technology, like AI, and that is what we have exposed in the law enforcement actions we took today,” she said.
Much of the concern around Russia centers on cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns designed to influence the November vote.
The tactics include using state media like RT to advance anti-U.S. messages and content, as well as networks of fake websites and social media accounts that amplify the claims and inject them into Americans’ online conversations. Typically, these networks seize on polarizing political topics such as immigration, crime or the war in Gaza.
In many cases, Americans may have no idea that the content they see online either originated or was amplified by the Kremlin.
Groups linked to the Kremlin are increasingly hiring marketing and communications firms within Russia to outsource some of the work of creating digital propaganda while also covering their tracks, the officials said during the briefing with reporters.
Two such firms were the subject of new U.S. sanctions announced in March. Authorities say the two Russian companies created fake websites and social media profiles to spread Kremlin disinformation.
The ultimate goal, however, is to get Americans to spread Russian disinformation without questioning its origin. People are far more likely to trust and repost information that they believe is coming from a domestic source, officials said. Fake websites designed to mimic U.S. news outlets and AI-generated social media profiles are just two methods.
Messages left with the Russian Embassy were not immediately returned.
Associated Press writers Dan Merica and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington, Ali Swenson in New York and Alan Suderman in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report.
-----
---
an 3 24
When former special counsel Robert Mueller testified before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee in July 2019, he warned that the Kremlin would continue to interfere in U.S. politics — including elections. The Mueller Report concluded that the 2016 Trump campaign's interactions with Russians did not rise to the level of a full-fledged criminal conspiracy, but Russian election interference and disinformation campaigns, Mueller stressed, are quite real.
In a report published on March 7, the Daily Beast's Shannon Vavra describes Russian "disinformation operators" who have been impersonating U.S. officials online on websites like Clearstory.News and Miami Chron (which is designed to look like a Florida website but is actually designed and published in Russia).
A recent impersonation, according to Vavra, occurred after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In fake audio posted online, Russian "disinformation operators" pretended to be Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Jim O'Brien.
READ MORE:**'Very big can of worms': Ex-prosecutor says Trump may seek 'foreign' help to pay judgments**
Their impersonations, Vavra reports, were sloppy, as the agitators spoke with noticeable "Russian accents."
Yet some major politicians have, at times, been fooled by online Russian disinformation campaigns designed to spread lies about Vladimir Putin foes like Navalny or Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) parroted a fake anti-Zelensky narrative peddled on YouTube and on a Russian disinformation site called DC Weekly, as the BBC reported," Vavra explains. "The story alleged that Zelensky had used American aid money to buy two yachts. The allegation was false, and the yachts hadn't even been sold."
According to Vavra, the "fake audio about the Russian opposition movement appears to be the first prong of the campaign that isn't explicitly about weakening western support for Ukraine" but "can provide clues about the broader remit of Russian disinformation operators now."
READ MORE:**Trump has a problem with 'country club Republicans' who 'aren’t sold on him'**
"The strategic goal is likely about elevating Putin and solidifying his grip on power, in part by making it look like the opposition is controlled by the U.S.," Vavra adds.
READ MORE:**George Will rips 'ignoble' Republicans for willingness to 'hand Putin a victory'**
*Shannon Vavra's full report for the Daily Beast is available at this link (subscription required).
---
judd 3 24
on Tuesday, billionaire Elon Musk told his 175 million followers on X that President Biden had committed "treason" by "secretly" flying "320,000 illegal immigrants" from Latin America to US airports.
(https://substack.com/redirect/dcad66a4-b74b-4ca6-839a-b614c9bcbf5c?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw)
It is quite a dramatic claim. The only problem is that nearly everything Musk said is a lie.
Musk was responding to information from Collin Rugg, the co-owner of a right-wing news aggregation site called Trending Politics (https://substack.com/redirect/77dd5cf6-dafe-4a29-826c-bbcf0ad47a98?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw). Rugg's post references a report (https://substack.com/redirect/4c7d6087-f706-496f-89c1-7a0fd4509433?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) about a program expanding humanitarian parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans. CIS is an anti-immigrant think tank co-founded by eugenicist (https://substack.com/redirect/f43fd1b1-44b8-4ae8-a2f9-b55fb3b8c820?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) and racist (https://substack.com/redirect/0fdc6268-8645-48db-9308-98e941940b02?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) John Tanton.
First, nothing about the expanded humanitarian parole program is "secret." Biden announced it (https://substack.com/redirect/91cace62-3187-49e8-a04d-1d18c15c366b?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) in a White House speech on January 5, 2023:
The way this parole program works: One must have a lawful sponsor here in the United States who agrees to sponsor you to get here… Then, that person has to… undergo rigorous background checks and apply from outside the United States and not cross the border illegally in the meantime. If they apply and their application is approved, they can use the same app, the CBP One app, to present at a port of entry and be able to work in the United States legally for two years. That’s the process.
…Today I’m announcing that my administration is going to expand the parole program for people not only from Venezuela but from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti.
The program was then detailed in a White House press release (https://substack.com/redirect/fc06c830-6b46-4117-a9ee-20ff01ee2728?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw). The release specifies that the program allows "up to 30,000 individuals per month from these four countries." To qualify, individuals must have an "eligible sponsor and pass vetting and background checks." Those admitted through the program "can come to the United States for a period of two years and receive work authorization." The program was then described in further detail in another press release (https://substack.com/redirect/39f15645-6511-443a-8f4b-ea3fda1b4de5?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) issued the same day by the Department of Homeland Security.
The announcement received widespread press coverage in major media outlets, including the Washington Post (https://substack.com/redirect/13d10ff1-46dc-4c74-bcb4-f0ecf06bf159?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) and the New York Times (https://substack.com/redirect/0f84c16c-5a46-4f90-a39a-820413bacc0a?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw). Today, the program is featured on the home page of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website:
(https://substack.com/redirect/73cf5409-fc0a-4f93-a2c6-105f002e0a7b?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw)
Musk is also amazed that the Biden administration was able to keep the program secret when it involved chartering thousands of planes, flying to dozens of airports.
(https://substack.com/redirect/f0a16c8b-b58f-4bb0-ab70-b80c9f866e64?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw)
The reason why no one noticed all the planes chartered by the Biden administration is that they don't exist. Under the terms of the parole program, individuals are required to purchase their own flights to the United States. "If the beneficiary has been authorized to travel to the United States, they must arrange and fund their own travel," the USCIS website states (https://substack.com/redirect/24100a56-4d85-4d9d-97bb-57d617b33946?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw). "Beneficiaries must arrange to fly to the United States by air directly to an interior port of entry and their final destination."
While Musk says this program constitutes "treason," it is fully within Biden's legal authority. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (https://substack.com/redirect/8ca914ab-99d6-4a0b-8eb9-604a3293072c?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw), the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security can "in his discretion parole into the United States temporarily under such conditions as he may prescribe only on a case‐by‐case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit any alien applying for admission to the United States." Federal courts have found that parole determinations are not subject to judicial review (https://substack.com/redirect/5e441b6a-11f1-41f3-85ca-b9fe7a4d7d45?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw). Every president has used parole authority since it was established in 1952 (https://substack.com/redirect/f2fd2355-1530-403b-867e-7f2e2a5f5dd0?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw), except Trump.
Musk says the immigrants admitted under the program are a national security threat — "\i]t is highly probable that the groundwork is being laid for something far worse than 9/11" — because they are "unvetted (https://substack.com/redirect/b8369775-2710-415c-a94d-b624af214571?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw)." This is also false. The program [requires (https://substack.com/redirect/24100a56-4d85-4d9d-97bb-57d617b33946?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) all individuals to "[u]ndergo and pass required national security and public safety vetting."
Despite Musk's claims, individuals entering the United States under this program are doing so legally. And they are not eligible to vote. The notion that migrants are voting in meaningful numbers is not grounded in fact. A study by the Brennan Center for Justice evaluating 23.5 million votes across 12 states in 2016 found 30 incidents of suspected non-citizen voting, 0.0001% of the 2016 vote (https://substack.com/redirect/6cf1d347-08a0-4f1f-96cf-f83e199621cd?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) in those jurisdictions. A 2022 audit (https://substack.com/redirect/d51be737-f0aa-461f-a57a-a46f0c2471a9?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) of Georgia voting rolls found about 1600 noncitizens attempting to register to vote over a 25-year period, and no non-citizens were actually allowed to register or vote.
Playing the hits
“Secretive” migrant flights have been the focus of similar outcries in years past. Ahead of the 2022 midterms, multiple Republicans accused the Biden administration of organizing “ghost flights” of migrants. Republican Tyler Kistner, who ran for Congress in Minnesota, said (https://substack.com/redirect/274208d5-ac28-40be-a99b-6883010d5074?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) that Biden “has been secretly flying illegal immigrants into communities across the country in the middle of the night.” Representative Ashley Hinson (R-IA) claimed (https://substack.com/redirect/0e58b671-96d7-437e-b726-69541ec35443?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) the government was “flying illegal immigrants from the border into our country in the dead of night.” And former Congressman Lou Barletta (R-PA), in his bid for governor of Pennsylvania, blamed (https://substack.com/redirect/c30d4a07-29a3-4168-8324-c2cd9ad2f7fd?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) Biden for “hid\ing] secret ghost flights of illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, politicians in Florida (https://substack.com/redirect/ccf5ae91-3617-4357-adae-78bbd6768f4c?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw), Texas (https://substack.com/redirect/1d6af346-bccd-4c60-bea1-6e48d177caa5?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw), New York (https://substack.com/redirect/27448e5a-ccd7-40d3-9ac5-9acec04dd9ff?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw), Alabama (https://substack.com/redirect/8a097e84-bafc-4ab9-87c4-eb5d3545c075?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw), and [North Dakota (https://substack.com/redirect/1d6af346-bccd-4c60-bea1-6e48d177caa5?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) also fomented panic over migrant flights.
These claims, however, were highly misleading. Most of the flights targeted by the right carried unaccompanied minors who, under federal law, cannot be held by Border Patrol for more than 72 hours. The goal of these flights is to connect children with their parents, relatives or, in some cases, a licensed program. Experts say that it’s extremely unlikely (https://substack.com/redirect/ee038f46-2e06-442d-b811-777b8a715eba?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) that adults with unauthorized immigration status were aboard these flights. The mix-up, a 2022 Washington Post fact-check explained (https://substack.com/redirect/ee038f46-2e06-442d-b811-777b8a715eba?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw), could have been due to the fact that there are separate flights that carry adults in ICE custody to “different detention facilities.”
Regardless, both types of transports are routine and were carried out under Trump (https://substack.com/redirect/115f6ed8-86c9-4fdd-a7c0-f42746f53cfa?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw). According to the Washington Post (https://substack.com/redirect/4118c25b-49e5-45f6-abdd-b77761a9d35d?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw), “in 2019, the Trump administration sought a private contractor whocould transport 225,000 migrants across the country (https://substack.com/redirect/ce9beec3-31c9-4d09-8fdc-e9dba8174d5d?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) to temporary shelters, because of overcrowding at the border.”
The truth about the app
Musk’s posts also target the CBP One App and misrepresent its functions. To Musk, the app is evidence of an “open border.” The reality, however, is that the app limits the number of people who can immigrate.
Launched in 2020 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the app has several purposes. At the southern border, asylum seekers must use the app to schedule appointments at a Port of Entry. Most migrants who don't use the app are turned away. Critics have highlighted many issues (https://substack.com/redirect/c1ebd281-be9e-40e3-a9a8-2f7aa01f709b?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) with the app, including the fact that there are more individuals seeking asylum each day than there are available appointment slots. Some advocates have accused (https://substack.com/redirect/e247fec5-d698-4b7c-baaf-3cd144431cfb?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw) the app of being “unlawful because migrants are allowed to seek asylum anyway on U.S. soil.”
In addition, the app is also used for the parole process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans. (This is the well-publicized program Musk claimed was "secret.") These individuals can use the app to “request advance authorization to travel to an airport in the United States to seek a discretionary grant of parole,” CBP’s website states (https://substack.com/redirect/d0bffaa6-01ca-4d7d-bb15-3cd341a2250b?j=eyJ1IjoiN3ltancifQ.i0HJl3aVWG8sHp566T-pebMssFGKcgvxVOFLuZyEDpw).
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a policy director at the American Immigration Council, explained that the app is just one component of the process. An individual using the app would still need to secure a sponsor who can “submit evidence that they are able to financially sponsor the person coming on parole,” Reichlin-Melnick said. A CBP agent will still inspect the individual upon arrival. The process is limited to 30,000 individuals per month, chosen at random. Everyone else is out of luck. Reichlin-Melnick says publicly available data shows the program has helped slow irregular entries by individuals from eligible countries.
---
---