Parole-in-Place Amnesty Applications Start Today

FAIR Take | August 2024

Starting today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is accepting applications for its unlawful parole-in-place amnesty program. The program, strategically titled, “Keeping Families Together” provides illegal aliens spouses already in the U.S. with parole for up to three years, if not longer. The Biden-Harris administration unveiled the new application form today in the Federal Register.

The “parole-in-place” program is designed to grant amnesty to illegal aliens who have been living in the U.S. for at least 10 years as of June 17, 2024, and have a legally valid marriage to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024. USCIS estimates that 550,000 aliens will benefit.

By granting illegal alien spouses “parole-in-place, the program will shield illegal aliens from deportation, grant them work authorization and put them on a path to citizenship. Only illegal aliens present in the U.S. can apply; in fact, they specifically state that those who were admitted to the U.S. (such as with a nonimmigrant visa) are not eligible to apply. If the U.S. citizen spouse or stepparent died prior to the illegal alien submitting the form, they can still qualify. Even if an illegal alien spouse is in removal proceedings, he or she may still qualify.

Late last week, the agency issued advanced notice to the public about what the parole-in-place amnesty form would look like, provided step-by-step guidance on applying, and gave unusual advice on what type of evidence would be accepted to gain approval. To implement this parole-in-place amnesty, the agency even created a new application form, which did not go through the normal “notice and comment” process that allows the public to weigh in with concerns or suggestions. The form can only be submitted electronically, whereas all other forms are available for an applicant or petitioner to mail to the agency with their evidence.

The parole-in-place amnesty application form (Form I-131F) fails to include basic questions needed to properly screen and vet applicants. For example, the alien does not have to provide previous mailing addresses or information about family members. It does not ask about how the illegal alien originally entered the U.S., previous countries in which the alien resided, previous entries into the United States, and other immigration benefits sought.

In addition to releasing the new application form, USCIS has provided illegal alien applicants with guidance on evidence it should submit with the application—particularly to prove the relationship to the U.S. spouse who is the basis for claiming parole-in-place and evidence of continual physical presence in the United States. Remarkably, in both cases, the agency is telling applicants that it will simply accept an “attestation by religious entities, unions, or other civic or community organizations.” Such attestations used in the past (i.e. 1986 amnesty) were riddled with fraud.

Regarding criminal histories, certain crimes will bar illegal aliens from obtaining parole-in-place. According to the agency’s application guidance, aliens will be required to provide information about any felony or misdemeanor in the U.S., or crime in any country other than the United States. While convictions for serious crimes like murder and domestic violence are disqualifying, the agency is allowing aliens with other criminal histories to benefit. Those with “less serious convictions” can overcome the ineligibility, including aliens who provide evidence of rehabilitation or can show that a mental or physical condition contributed to the criminal conduct. Those with pending charges for any crime must wait until the charges are resolved to apply for parole-in-place.

But even assuming that illegal aliens submit information on their criminal histories with their parole-in-place applications, it is unclear whether the government will be able to confirm its accuracy or otherwise identify bad actors. USCIS is not a law enforcement agency and it lacks access to certain databases needed to proactively check or confirm an applicant’s criminal history. Namely, USCIS adjudicators do not have access to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Interstate Identification Index (III), which is managed by the FBI and used by states to upload criminal history records for law enforcement purposes.

Regarding fraud, it appears USCIS is at least attempting to avoid the embarrassment of shutting down another program due to massive fraud. The USCIS application guidance says that if an illegal alien knowingly and willfully falsifies or conceals a material fact or submits a false document with the form, USCIS will deny the application and may deny any other immigration benefit. Fortunately, the guidance is clear about the ability to revoke parole. It states, “DHS may also terminate your parole at any time if we determine that your continued presence in the United States is no longer warranted.”

Whether USCIS will make the effort to guard against fraud, especially marriage fraud, is highly questionable. By the very terms of the program, illegal aliens who have been married to a U.S. citizen for roughly 60 days are eligible to apply for parole-in-place. These aliens will be able to obtain a green card immediately and then obtain citizenship within three years. The incentive for illegal aliens to lie or enter into sham marriages is enormous—especially when the threshold for evidence needed to apply is so flimsy.

The Biden-Harris Administration is clearly in a hurry to process illegal aliens through its new parole-in-place program while it still has time. Clearly, the upcoming presidential election and the open-borders advocates are placing pressure on Biden-Harris to get the program up and running and create a reliance interest for aliens to make it harder for courts to strike down the program. And, if there is no change in the White House, this parole-in-place amnesty program makes it that much easier to move forward with a larger amnesty scheme. After all, if the President can ignore the law and simply choose a group of illegal aliens he believes deserves amnesty – regardless of what federal law says – he will not stop there. He will continue to expand this parole-in-place program until it covers all illegal aliens in the country.

As proof of the Administration’s determination, they are plowing ahead with the parole-in-place amnesty program only weeks after FAIR uncovered massive fraud in the Cuba-Haiti-Nicaragua-Venezuela (CHNV) parole program. In July, the Biden-Harris administration paused the CHNV program due to the prevalence of fraud found in an internal report. But as one door closes, another door opens, and this new parole program could well be the largest amnesty ever undertaken without the consent of Congress.

The Biden-Harris parole-in-place program is not only illegal because it grants parole en masse to illegal aliens already in the U.S., it undermines existing laws for family-based immigration. It is wholly unfair to legal immigrants who are waiting in line and following the statutes passed by Congress while simultaneously rewarding and encouraging more illegal behavior by granting parole-in-place to illegal aliens already here. And, it does nothing to secure the border or stop the chaos and humanitarian disaster that has unfolded for the last 3.5 years.

To read FAIR’s Top 10 reasons to oppose the Parole-in-Place amnesty, click here.