Sarahy Parra-Ovalles, a Venezuelan migrant granted a work permit after overstaying her tourist visa, is accused of hitting a Florida mother with her car while the woman was pushing her 4-month-old baby in a stroller. Parra-Ovalles allegedly fled the scene after the crash, leaving the mother with catastrophic injuries. Surveillance footage reportedly shows Parra-Ovalles, an Amazon driver, getting out of her car to place the baby back in the stroller before driving away, while the mother lay bleeding in the street. The Miami-Dade Police Department arrested Parra-Ovalles on charges of leaving the scene of a crash with serious bodily injury. She was quickly released on bond, causing outrage from the victim’s family, who questioned why Parra-Ovalles was allowed back on the streets so soon.
Parra-Ovalles entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2019, which expired in 2021. Despite this, she was granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in 2021, which allowed her to apply for a work permit. This incident has drawn criticism of the Biden administration’s TPS policy, which has allowed hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan nationals to remain and work in the U.S. since 2021. Reports estimate that about 320,000 Venezuelans have benefited from this designation, raising concerns over the vetting process and its implications for public safety.
