Washington, D.C. (April 13, 2023) – A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies reveals that the Biden administration’s abuse of immigration parole will have serious consequences for the American taxpayer.
The administration’s granting of parole to more than a million aliens (so far) will translate into billions of dollars of federal welfare benefits within a few years’ time. While in some cases the parolees become eligible to receive federal benefits as soon as they become “qualified” (a status defined in law), in most cases they will become eligible after five years as parolees. This privileged status is equivalent to that of lawful permanent residents for purposes of welfare eligibility.

Once this five-year “parole payday” arrives, the cost to American taxpayers will likely reach about $3 billion per year per million parolees. The high price tag reflects the large backlogs in the immigration courts and the Biden administration’s release of hundreds of thousands of aliens apprehended at the border without even bothering to issue them notices to appear in court; this will result in many of Biden’s parolees still being in parole status after five years (and, for many, far beyond that).

George Fishman, the Center’s Senior Legal Fellow and author of the report, said, “The Biden administration has granted parole to over one million aliens in just over two years, including over 800,000 inadmissible aliens the administration invited into the U.S. or apprehended at the border and released – and it’s just getting started. The number will continue to grow, as will the cost to the American taxpayer.”

Fishman recommends that “Congress seriously consider amending federal law to deny Biden’s parolees privileged access to federal welfare programs, leaving them eligible only for those welfare benefits available to illegal aliens.” He also suggests that in the absence of congressional action, “states should challenge the legality of considering long-term parolees who did not enter the U.S. in that status to have met the five-year test for eligibility for many federal welfare benefits.”Washington, D.C. (April 13, 2023) – A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies reveals that the Biden administration’s abuse of immigration parole will have serious consequences for the American taxpayer.

The administration’s granting of parole to more than a million aliens (so far) will translate into billions of dollars of federal welfare benefits within a few years’ time. While in some cases the parolees become eligible to receive federal benefits as soon as they become “qualified” (a status defined in law), in most cases they will become eligible after five years as parolees. This privileged status is equivalent to that of lawful permanent residents for purposes of welfare eligibility.

Once this five-year “parole payday” arrives, the cost to American taxpayers will likely reach about $3 billion per year per million parolees. The high price tag reflects the large backlogs in the immigration courts and the Biden administration’s release of hundreds of thousands of aliens apprehended at the border without even bothering to issue them notices to appear in court; this will result in many of Biden’s parolees still being in parole status after five years (and, for many, far beyond that).

George Fishman, the Center’s Senior Legal Fellow and author of the report, said, “The Biden administration has granted parole to over one million aliens in just over two years, including over 800,000 inadmissible aliens the administration invited into the U.S. or apprehended at the border and released – and it’s just getting started. The number will continue to grow, as will the cost to the American taxpayer.”

Fishman recommends that “Congress seriously consider amending federal law to deny Biden’s parolees privileged access to federal welfare programs, leaving them eligible only for those welfare benefits available to illegal aliens.” He also suggests that in the absence of congressional action, “states should challenge the legality of considering long-term parolees who did not enter the U.S. in that status to have met the five-year test for eligibility for many federal welfare benefits.”