One report suggests that President Biden has exploited a law from the Cold War era to legalize the status of over 500,000 foreign nationals already living in the United States.
Internal government documents acquired by the media show that the Biden administration’s immigration strategy has resulted in the largest wave of legal immigration in modern history. To allow migrants to enter the country lawfully without a visa, federal officials are invoking a clause of federal law that has existed for decades.
Public and judicial data show this strategy has given legal status to 541,000 immigrants worldwide.
Federal officials can now claim that bringing in undocumented immigrants serves a pressing humanitarian need or the public interest, thanks to legislation passed in 1952. This legal status, however, is only valid for two years before the immigrant must either apply for a new visa or have their current one renewed.
The Biden administration has used several international crises—including massive migration in Latin America, Afghans fleeing the Taliban’s control, and Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion—to defend its position. A total of 168,400 Latin Americans and Caribbean migrants, 141,200 Ukrainian refugees, 133,000 southern border asylum applicants, 77,000 Afghan evacuees, and 22,000 Ukrainians have been granted legal immigration status thanks to the administration’s use of its parole authority, as shown by official government statistics.
Over 200,000 border interactions were recorded for ten consecutive months last year, marking a peak in the border crisis under Biden. The government’s response was to consider options for facilitating legal migration without prior border crossing appointments.
With a sponsor, refugees from Ukraine can bypass the southern border and fly directly to the United States under the Uniting for Ukraine initiative, which was launched at the beginning of last year. A sponsored program was then established for Venezuelans escaping poverty and authoritarian rule; late last year, it was enlarged to accommodate people from Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua.
CBP One, a smartphone app, was released to allow migrants to schedule interviews at a legitimate port of entry.
When used together, these Biden administration initiatives will help sustain the historically high rate of legal immigration. There is no annual limit on the number of people who can participate in the program for citizens of Ukraine, and the CBP One app allows more than 500,000 migrants each year.
While providing humanitarian aid to migrants, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) uses parole under strict guidelines, according to a DHS official.
The DHS spokesperson informed the media that parole is only given on an individual basis to those who pass rigorous security checks and meet specific requirements. Those without proper documentation are swiftly deported, given a five-year ban on reentering the country, and may face criminal charges. In the past two years, more people have been removed or expelled than granted parole, and it is deceptive and incorrect to lump together quite diverse parole systems that serve different reasons.
In January, a group of twenty states led by Republicans filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s program for Latin American countries, arguing that it violated Congress’s authority to restrict immigration parole powers.
Republican legislators of these states argued that DHS has effectively established a new visa program without the requisite authorization from Congress, using the pretext of stopping individuals from crossing the border illegally between the ports of entry. Because of repeated restrictions by Congress, the Department’s ability to grant parole is highly restricted; it can only be exercised on a case-by-case basis when doing so would serve a compelling public interest.