Illegal Border Crossings Today:

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President Biden’s Massive Parole Program is Not Only Illegal, It’s a Budget-Buster Too

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President Biden’s plan to allow up to 360,000 otherwise inadmissible Venezuelans, Cubans, Haitian, and Nicaraguans into the country is not only an abuse of his very limited authority of parole. An initial analysis by FAIR also demonstrates that it will impose enormous additional tax burdens on federal, state and local taxpayers.

FAIR researched a variety of federal and state tax and benefit programs that migrants who are admitted to the United States as parolees would be eligible to receive. While more research will be required to come up with a reliable estimate, the extensive list indicates that the cost to American taxpayers would be significant.

Among the benefits parolees would be in line for, include:

  • The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Assuming that they meet income requirements (and many, if not most, would) parolees would be eligible to collect direct payments from the Federal Treasury under the EITC. While other illegal aliens are barred from receiving this benefit, parolees would qualify as “resident aliens.” Unlike tax deductions, which reduce the amount of taxes owed, the EITC results in the Federal Treasury cutting checks to those who meet the income requirements.
  • The Affordable Care Act (ACA). Parolees will be immediately eligible for coverage under the ACA, also known as Obamacare. The program bars illegal aliens from participating, but a parolee would qualify because they are “lawfully present.” Since most parolees are likely to be low wage earners, they will be in line for hefty taxpayer subsidies under the ACA.
  • Medicare and Medicaid. Parolees would be deemed “qualified aliens,” and would be eligible for benefits – some immediately and some after a five-year waiting period. Cuban and Haitian parolees with pending asylum applications are immediately eligible to collect benefits, assuming they meet the other criteria. Moreover, all aliens who are granted asylum or refugee status are immediately eligible for federal public benefits.
  • Other health benefits. Parolees who are pregnant or who are under the age of 21 will, in most states, be immediately eligible for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) because federal law permits states to waive the five-year bar to provide Medicaid or CHIP coverage to aliens who are “lawfully present.” As of 2021, 35 states have chosen to provide Medicaid coverage to lawfully residing children and/or pregnant women without a five-year waiting period. Twenty-eight of these states also cover lawfully residing children or pregnant women in CHIP.

These are by no means a comprehensive list. In addition, all children who are paroled into the United States are guaranteed a K-12 publicly-funded education. Other costs are certain to emerge as more research is done. Needless to say, President Biden’s abuse of his parole power will also result in the further abuse of American taxpayers.