FIRST ON FOX: A Haitian migrant now accused of killing two roommates in New York was paroled into the U.S. after booking an appointment on the controversial CBP One app — which has been expanded by the Biden administration to allow tens of thousands of migrants to enter the U.S. each month.
Kenol Baptiste, a Haitian national, was arrested in Middletown, New York, on April 1 for second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, Middletown PD said in a statement earlier this month.
Police said that two men had sustained multiple stab wounds. One was determined to have died at the scene, and the other was seriously injured and later died during surgery. Police said Baptiste was an acquaintance of the victims, and all lived at the same address. Baptiste was located in a nearby wooded area by the police’s K9 team. He was then detained at Orange County Jail.
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News Digital that Baptiste had arrived in the United States in July 2023 when he presented himself at the Paso Del Norte port of entry in El Paso, Texas.
The spokesperson said he presented himself on July 25 at the port of entry after booking an appointment on the CBP One app. Baptiste was given a notice to appear (NTA) in immigration court, was processed and paroled into the U.S. for pending removal proceedings. ICE has since placed a detainer on him, which requests he be transferred to ICE custody on his eventual release from jail.
The app was created under the Trump administration, but was expanded last year by the Biden administration to allow up to 1,450 migrants a day to make an appointment to be processed into the U.S. as part of the administration's efforts to expand "lawful pathways" for migration in order to deal with the historic crisis at the southern border. It claims that the app has helped promote a safe and orderly way to enter the U.S. for migrants in a way that doesn't involve entering illegally.
The expanded app allows migrants to upload a photograph before making an appointment and provide additional information before the appointment. Authorities have said that migrants are vetted using biometric and biographic data before being allowed into the U.S.
The app, which has so far allowed more than 547,000 individuals to make appointments since 2023, has come under fire from Republicans who say it is a "concierge service" for otherwise-illegal immigrants to enter the U.S. under the guise of legality. Migrants from Haiti are one of the top nationalities, along with those from Mexico and Venezuela.
CBP One is also used beyond ports of entry to allow up to 30,000 migrants from Haiti, as well as Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to fly or travel directly into the United States after getting approval for parole.
Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus told Fox News Digital that the two men who were stabbed were also Haitian, and confirmed that Baptiste was waiting for a hearing from a federal judge.
"He came in over the border, but they did give him working papers, and he was scheduled to get an asylum hearing by a federal judge," he said.
Neuhaus said that there were seven people all in all living in the one apartment. He also said he believed the story has received less coverage because the victims weren’t American citizens.
"Unfortunately, you have two individuals that have died, but most people didn't know they were in the community," he said.
It is the latest crime involving Haitian migrants paroled into the U.S. A migrant now charged with the rape of a 15-year-old girl at a Massachusetts hotel housing migrants was paroled into the U.S., Fox News reported last month.
