Biden's retooled humanitarian parole program is unlawful, allowing "up to 360,000 aliens to be 'paroled' into the U.S.," and Congress has never authorized the program. America First Legal just announced a lawsuit that will partner with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and "a coalition of Attorneys General from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming." As reported by UncoverDC in early January, the Biden administration has figured out a way to legitimize illegal immigration while increasing costs for legal immigrants and explains the current administration's abuse of the law and its harmful impact on everyday Americans.
Biden's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) took a program that is supposed to have limited use and has twisted it around to serve his open borders policy. He is blatantly breaking the law. As the press release from AFL states:
"Under the guise of preventing illegal aliens from crossing the southern land border, the Biden Administration's new parole program actually allows aliens in their home countries to obtain the benefit of being able to secure advance approval to enter the United States—despite no other basis in law for them doing so (i.e., these are not visas). And in so doing, these aliens will be eligible to obtain work permits and will be allowed to stay in the United States for two years, subject to potentially indefinite renewal.
President Biden has once again proven he is willing to break the law in order to flood the United States with more illegal aliens and put American sovereignty on the line. This policy is another brazen assault on the rule of law, and America First Legal is proud to take legal action against this attack on our nation's borders."
Stop Unlawful Abuse of the Humanitarian Parole Program
The lawsuit seeks to stop Biden's unlawful abuse of a program that should be much more limited and only used on a "case-by-case" basis. Lawyers in the case maintain Biden's version of humanitarian parole fails to meet the "law's three limiting factors; It is not case-by-case, is not for urgent humanitarian reasons, and advances no significant public benefit."
Mayorkas Says Border Enforcement is Working
On Wednesday, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas played dumb, issuing a press release to convince Americans of a DHS whose heroic "border enforcement measures are working" to favor the states that are opposing them. Secretary Mayorkas said:
"These expanded border enforcement measures are working. It is incomprehensible that some states who stand to benefit from these highly effective enforcement measures are seeking to block them and cause more irregular migration at our southern border."
He is playing dumb because he knows the math doesn't add up. Historic numbers of aliens are flooding U.S. borders with no sign of an end in sight. Biden's border policies are disastrous.
Miller and Paxton Comment on Harmful Impact of Biden's Parole Program
Stephen Miller, the President of AFL and former West Wing Senior Advisor to President Trump, stated in Tuesday's press release:
"A dramatic escalation in the open borders crusade—not only is Biden freely admitting illegal aliens who arrive at our borders, but he is now going to foreign countries to pre-approve innumerable illegal aliens to flood into our country without any legal basis whatsoever. It is illegal, unconstitutional, and contemptible."
According to the lawsuit, the DHS "does not have the authority to invite more than a third of a million more illegal aliens into the United States annually as it has announced with this program."
AG Paxton understands the impact of such policies. Texas has been inundated with child and drug trafficking, criminal cartels, and economic and social service burdens due to the historic influx of aliens coming across its borders. His press release on Tuesday clarifies that he believes this is an "amnesty program" disguised as "border enforcement." Paxton continued:
"Every state in America, especially border states like Texas, is being crushed by the impacts of illegal immigration. The Biden open borders agenda has created a humanitarian crisis that is increasing crime and violence in our streets, overwhelming local communities, and worsening the opioid crisis. This unlawful amnesty program, which will invite hundreds of thousands of aliens into the U.S. every year, will only make this immigration crisis drastically worse."
Asylum Status is Specific and Defined by Law
Biden's program changes the long-standing requirements that qualify an individual for refugee status. Application for refugee status is very specific and is defined by law. To receive asylum, a refugee must prove a credible well-founded "fear of persecution and is unable or unwilling to return" to his country of origin. As Nayla Rush with the Center for Immigration Studies writes in her informative article on asylum seekers, "Not all migrants are refugees, but more and more migrants are falsely claiming persecution to enter into a country." Simply put, they are doing it because they can.
As it stands now, the humanitarian parole program is, for all intents and purposes, an open invitation for aliens to reside in the U.S. legally for two years with advance authorization and a sponsor. Many end up overstaying. They are all given employment authorization. According to the lawsuit, there is "no cost to apply for the alien or the supporter," according to the lawsuit. The government partners with NGOs to supply the parolees with free government benefits, access to employment training and language classes, loaded debit cards, and more.
AFL and AG Paxton cite the implementation of the parole policy for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans. But this administration has also recognized Afghans and Ukrainians for the same type of parole. The cornerstone of Biden's border policy is ideological, focusing on integration and "inclusivity," not national security.
There has been no discussion or public notice to the affected border states of the changes. And, according to the lawsuit, the Defendants (Biden administration) have never "explain[ed] or analyze[d] how [it] would remove from the United States aliens paroled through the program after the end of any period of authorized parole, despite admitting general difficulty removing such aliens to their home countries presently." The lawsuit also stated:
"The Defendants did not consult the Plaintiff States about the potential effects of this program or the ability of the Plaintiff States to provide services to aliens paroled in through the program."
Biden's Parole Program Harms Citizens in All States
As stated in the case, the parole program "harms Texas." Because of Federal Law requiring states to include illegal aliens in certain programs, the state is burdened with providing services to illegal aliens which "include education and healthcare, as well as many other social services." Also required are inclusion in Emergency Medicaid, the Texas Family Violence Program, The Texas Children's Health Insurance Program, "millions of dollars each year for uncompensated care provided by state public hospital districts to illegal aliens," and public education costs," according to the lawsuit. There are similar requirements for benefits to aliens in every state. Details of the burden on the other 20 Plaintiff states are detailed in the case starting on page 13. Millions of dollars are spent supporting services for illegal aliens in every state every year, straining the pocketbooks and resources of legal, law-abiding citizens. Taxpayer money funds most of it.
Biden's humanitarian parole program "incentivizes" aliens from countries like Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Ukraine, and Afghanistan "to obtain advance authorization to enter the U.S." and shifts "limited resources [from U.S. citizens] on education, healthcare, public assistance, and general government services" to "even more individuals who are not U.S. citizens." All states are now border states partly because of Biden's unserious border policies. With Fentanyl killing more Americans each day, the toll is not just monetary.
The lawsuit is asking the court to look at the unlawful and unconstitutional aspects of Biden's humanitarian parole program, contending it is "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law; contrary to constitutional right, power, privilege, or immunity; in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations, or short of statutory right; and without observance of procedure required by law."
