WASHINGTON, June 18,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- President Biden's
unilateral decision to grant amnesty to hundreds of thousands of
illegal aliens through parole-in-place marks the administration's
latest abuse of executive power in its never-ending quest to
subvert U.S. immigration laws, charged the Federation for American
Immigration Reform (FAIR).
President Biden's executive action grants 'parole-in-place' –
along with immediate work authorization and a pathway to
citizenship – to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens who are
spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens. "Through this sweeping
executive action, which has no grounding in federal law, the
President is illegally claiming the power to bypass Congress'
plenary authority over immigration policy in pursuit of a political
goal as the president faces reelection," said Dan Stein, president of FAIR.
Parole-in-place has no basis in law. It is an authority that was
conjured up in a 1998 memorandum by the Clinton administration and
has been abused by subsequent administrations to create a path to
citizenship for various groups of illegal aliens. The federal
parole statute is very narrow, and only grants authority to allow
inadmissible aliens to temporarily enter to the United States on a case-by-case
basis only. Even then, the parole must be justified by "urgent
humanitarian reasons" or a "significant public benefit."
This long-standing federal statute, however, has not dissuaded
the Biden administration from advancing its open-borders
agenda. The Biden administration has illegally distorted
parole beyond recognition, to a point where more parolees are
entering the country than green card holders. Today's broad action
compounds this power grab with another blatant violation of federal
law. It marks the biggest amnesty granted since the 1986
Immigration Reform and Control Act – implemented without the
consent of Congress.
"Two weeks ago, the president sought to appease the vast
majority of Americans alarmed by the historic wave of illegal
immigration – triggered by his own policies – by issuing a
proclamation that claims to get tough on border enforcement and
asylum abuse," noted Stein. "That so-called enforcement order
contains so many loopholes and exceptions that it amounts to little
more than a speed bump for illegal aliens who continue to arrive
here in record numbers.
"By contrast, today's action – designed to shore-up the
president's far-left political base – includes tangible and
enduring benefits for illegal aliens. It is not simply a decision
to defer removal proceedings. It is an immigration benefits
program that gives illegal aliens a reprieve from deportation and
allows them to apply for work authorization, Social Security
numbers, Obamacare and green cards. It also makes them
"qualified aliens" under federal law, which means that in a few
short years they will be eligible for Medicaid, food stamps and a
plethora of federal means-tested benefits. To make matters worse,
by granting these aliens parole-in-place, they will jump to the
front of the line, ahead of aliens legally applying for green
cards.
The political motivation the White House's recent antics is not
speculative. The president spelled it out clearly at the time he
issued his loophole-ridden executive order stating, 'For those who
say the steps I've taken are too strict, I say to you … be patient.
In the weeks ahead — and I mean the weeks ahead — I will speak to
how we can make our immigration system more fair and more just.'
Rewarding illegal immigration with amnesty is neither fair nor
just, nor does he have any constitutional authority to do so,"
Stein continued.
"Given the magnitude of the illegal immigration crisis and the
administration's repeated and flagrant abuse of our immigration
laws to allow illegal aliens to enter the country, it is imperative
that Congress take decisive action to halt today's unlawful and
politically-driven order from taking effect," concluded Stein.
Contact: Joey Chester,
jchester@fairus.org, 202-740-7355
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SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)