Northeast
Haitian migrant charged with rape of 15-year-old girl entered via controversial parole program: sources
A Haitian migrant now charged with rape of a 15-year-old girl at a Massachusetts hotel housing migrants was allowed into the U.S. by a controversial parole program that allows up to 30,000 migrants a month to fly into the country, sources tell Fox News.
Local authorities in Rockland, Mass., arrested 26-year-old Cory Alvarez, a Haitian national. The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office said he went before a Hingham District Court judge on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to a single count of aggravated rape of a child.
The DA’s office said Rockland police responded to the Comfort Inn on Wednesday night, for reports of a sexual assault. The hotel participates in a state and federal program to house migrant families, and Alvarez lived at the hotel. When officers arrived, they spoke with the 15-year-old female victim, who was taken to an area hospital to be treated.
Multiple Department of Homeland Security sources tell Fox News that Alvarez is a Haitian national who came to the U.S. in June via the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan (CHNV) parole processes.
MAYORKAS CALLS POLICY TO LET 30K MIGRANTS FLY IN EACH MONTH A ‘KEY ELEMENT’ OF BORDER PLAN AFTER LEGAL WIN
This undated image shows Cory Alvarez, charged with aggravated rape of a child. (Fox News)
The policy was first announced for Venezuelans in October 2022, which allowed a limited number to fly directly into the U.S. as long as they had not entered illegally, had a sponsor in the U.S. already and passed certain checks.
In January 2023, the administration announced that the program was expanding to include Haitians, Nicaraguans and Cubans and that the program would allow up to 30,000 people per month into the U.S. It allows for migrants to receive work permits and a two-year authorization to live in the U.S. and was announced alongside an expansion of Title 42 expulsions to include those nationalities.
DHS WARNS HAITIAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRIVING BY BOAT FACE ‘IMMEDIATE REPATRIATION’
The Department of Homeland Security recently said the process, which it describes as a “safe and orderly way to reach the United States” is a “key element” of the administration’s efforts to address high levels of migration throughout the Hemisphere. Republicans have accused the administration of abusing the parole process with the program, but a recent lawsuit from 20 GOP-led states was recently shot down in the courts.
Migrants who crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico are lined up for processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
Fox News is told that Alvarez flew directly from Haiti to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City in June, and was sponsored by someone in New Jersey. Fox News is also told that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer has been lodged against Alvarez. According to official data, the Biden admin has brought over 138,000 Haitians into the U.S. via the CHNV parole program since January 2023.
Meanwhile, there are concerns about a potential migrant wave coming from Haiti as violence escalates in the Caribbean country. Florida this week sent troops and aircraft to the coast in order to prevent illegal immigrants landing in boats.
Pedestrians run for cover after hearing gunshots in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Thursday, March 7. (AP/Odelyn Joseph)
DHS has said it is monitoring the situation in Haiti, although it has stressed that migration flows remain low. It has also warned that any migrants who cross by boat are “subject to immediate repatriation pursuant to our longstanding policy and procedures.”
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Pittsburg, PA
Below freezing temperatures to return Wednesday morning, ahead of 80-degree weather this weekend
Connecticut
Motorcyclist killed in Chevy Chase crash, shutting down Connecticut Avenue for hours
A motorcyclist died in a crash in Chevy Chase, Maryland, early Tuesday, shutting down a busy stretch of Connecticut Avenue for hours, police said.
A vehicle and a motorcyclist crashed near Manor Road and Connecticut Avenue, and officers responded about 6:15 a.m., Montgomery County police said.
Connecticut Avenue is closed between Manor Road and Jones Bridge Road, the Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination (MATOC) Program said about 10 a.m. Commuters should expect delays and look for other routes.
Access to Connecticut Avenue (also called MD-185) was blocked from the Inner and Outer loops of the Beltway, the MATOC Program said.
“An extended closure is expected,” they said.
The crash happened about a half-mile south of the Capital Beltway (I-495) exit for Connecticut Avenue.
Information on the identity of the motorcyclist and the cause of the crash wasn’t immediately released.
Maine
Regular gas tops $4, premium over $5 in Maine amid severe Trump Iran threats
Maine’s average price for regular gasoline rose to its highest point since August 2022, as the conflict in Iran continues to drive up global oil costs.
A gallon of regular gas averaged $4.03 here Tuesday, ticking up more than 6 cents overnight, according to data aggregated by motor club AAA. That price has risen 38.5% — about $1.12 — since Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel struck Iran, triggering a conflict that has since spilled into the broader Middle East.
Maine’s average price crossed the $4 threshold a week after the national average did so. The national average was up to $4.14 Tuesday, AAA data shows.
Premium gas was up to $5.07 per gallon in Maine, topping $5 for the first time in nearly four years. Diesel, meanwhile, averaged about $5.90 per gallon Tuesday.
Collectively, those figures mark the state’s highest average gas prices since the summer of 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine drove gas prices to record highs. A gallon of regular gas peaked at $5.09 that June, the highest ever recorded by AAA.
This week, Maine’s prices were the 21st highest among the 50 states and Washington, D.C., according to AAA. California, Hawaii, Washington, Nevada and Oregon all saw average prices above $5 per gallon Tuesday.
This is a developing story.
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