EL PASO — In the summer of 2025, José, his wife Carolina and their teenage daughter arrived for their first scheduled hearing at an immigration court in downtown El Paso. The family believed they were going to argue their case for political asylum proceedings after fleeing Venezuela.
Just over a year earlier, the family had followed the rules the Biden administration had established to enter the U.S.: They made an appointment through the CBP One cellphone application, met with a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent to request asylum, and received “parole” — permission to live and work in the country while their case was pending.
