WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the Immigration Parole Reform Act in alignment with President Trump’s directive to restore the immigration parole program to Congress’s original intent.
“Americans want a President who enforces the immigration laws,” said Dr. Cassidy. “They opposed Biden’s blanket parole for illegal migrants. This bill ensures that abuse won’t happen the next time a Democrat is elected.”
“The Obama and Biden administrations badly abused immigration parole, which was intended to be a temporary and highly discretionary means to enter our country. Under President Trump, parole will no longer be used as a loophole for illegal immigration. However, Congress must also act to prevent any future exploitation. My legislation would clarify the parole statute and ensure all future administrations are bound to Congress’ original intent,” said Senator Grassley.
Specifically, the Immigration Parole Reform Act would:
- Ensure parole is granted on a case-by-case basis and not used to admit entire classes of people;
- Clearly define what qualifies as an “urgent humanitarian reason” or “significant public benefit” for purposes of granting parole;
- Guarantee parole is not used to adjust permanent resident status, or to obtain any other immigration benefit, and;
- Place limits on the time period of an initial grant of parole and allow only one extension.
Cassidy and Grassley were joined by U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO), Mike Lee (R-UT), Katie Britt (R-AL), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Ted Budd (R-NC), and James Lankford (R-OK) in introducing the legislation.
Background
Immigration parole, established by Congress in 1952, allows the executive branch to temporarily grant individuals entry into the United States on a limited, case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.
Several presidential administrations – particularly the Obama and Biden-Harris administrations – abused this authority to bypass congressionally established immigration pathways and admit entire categories of people. The Biden-Harris administration exploited this authority to indiscriminately release an estimated 1.5 million immigrants into the United States.
Last Congress, despite the Biden administration having allowed over nine million migrants to illegally enter the country, Senate Democrats blocked the Immigration Parole Reform Act.
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