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Republican congressmen launch inquiry about migrant man charged with child rape in Rockland
Rep. Jim Jordan is asking for information about the man accused of raping a 15-year-old girl at a Massachusetts migrant shelter who came here through a federal program.
Federal lawmakers, including Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, are bringing national attention to an alleged rape of a 15-year-old at a migrant shelter in Rockland, Mass. last week.
Cory Alvarez, 26, a migrant from Haiti, was arrested at the Comfort Inn in Rockland last Wednesday night, the Plymouth County DA said. He was charged with one count of aggravated rape of a child with a more than ten year age gap last week. Another felony charge — rape of a child with force — was added Monday.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey confirmed on Friday that Alvarez entered the country through a federal program. She also said Alvarez passed two background checks.
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“We have the right systems in place. It is unfortunate that from time to time, things will happen … not just in shelter, but anywhere,” Healey said.
Jordan, who is chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, announced an inquiry into the alleged rape, the committee shared on X.
He and California Rep. Tom McClintock, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, wrote to Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to “conduct oversight of federal immigration policy and procedures.”
While Healey did not say which federal program brought Alvarez to Massachusetts, the lawmakers’ letter said he was a part of the Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, or CHNV. This allows people who pass a background check and have local financial support, among other criteria, to immigrate to the United States for two years to live and work, in a process known as “humanitarian parole.”
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Up to 30,000 people from those specific countries — which are experiencing unrest and violence — can be admitted into the United States each month. Mayorkas and the Biden Administration have been criticized for their use of the humanitarian parole authority, including when House Republicans tried to impeach the DHS secretary earlier this year.
Jordan and McClintock asked for Alvarez’s case history, any information regarding his entries into the United States, and information about his financial support. They gave Mayorkas an April 2 deadline.
“Criminal aliens exploit vulnerabilities in our nation’s immigration system to the detriment of those in the United States,” Jordan and McClintock wrote. “The Biden Administration’s border and immigration policies only increase the likelihood that criminal aliens will successfully enter and remain in the U.S.”
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