This Issue: Biden Admin. starts using parole to clear green card backlog

Fri, Jul. 14^th

The Biden Administration announced plans late last Friday to further expand its unprecedented abuse of "parole."

The new program directs the Department of Homeland Security to grant parole to nationals from Columbia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras who have an approved family-preference green card application. While their applications for visas have been approved, Congress has placed annual caps on the extended family chain migration visa categories causing them to join a waiting list that results in a 3+ year wait for their visas.

Under the new parole program, individuals with an approved immigrant visa application can apply for parole, allowing them to live and work in the United States for three years. The parole status can be renewed until a visa becomes available.

This latest program adds to the growing list of parole programs created by the Biden Administration. One program grants parole and a work permit to illegal aliens who claim to have a credible fear of returning home, regardless of the legitimacy of their claim, while another program sets aside 30,000 spots each month for individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

The Biden Administration continues to claim that their parole programs are simply an effort to expand "legal pathways" for foreign nationals to enter the U.S. But the Constitution grants authority over immigration to Congress, and that authority has been affirmed by the Supreme Court time after time.

In addition, the Biden Administration's newest program directly challenges the annual numerical caps that Congress has placed on the extended family chain migration categories. Multiple times over the last two decades, some Members of Congress have attempted to increase existing legal immigration levels, including family chain migration, but each time the legislation has failed. However, the Biden Administration has brazenly chosen to ignore that fact and allow some of these nationals to enter the U.S. anyway under the guise of parole.

One can only wonder if the administration plans to expand this parole program to other countries around the world and the employment-based green card categories. It should also have to explain how this new parole program is fair to the hundreds of thousands of people from other countries who are also on the waiting list and could watch others cut in line.

Back in May, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would rein in the administration's abuse of parole through H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act. It was offered as an amendment in the Senate to the must-pass debt ceiling bill in June, but failed mostly along party lines. Still, we're pushing for it to get introduced in the Senate to increase the chances of another floor vote.

ChRIS CHMIELENSKI

Washington Times: NumbersUSA Director of Government Releations Rosemary Jenks commented on the administration's newest parole program.

Rosemary Jenks, vice president at NumbersUSA, which advocates for stricter immigration limits, cast doubt on the program. She said people who already have a future pathway to the U.S. aren't likely to be the ones rushing to jump the border illegally, so the program won't change the border numbers much.

Instead, she said, the Biden team is playing favorites.

"This administration seems intent to discriminate based on national origins in favor of some countries while ignoring green card waiting lists for other countries," she said. "This is not about deterring illegal immigration; this is about bringing additional people into the United States."

Washington Times: NumbersUSA Director of Research Eric Ruark commented on job prospects for Black Americans with high illegal immigration.

With illegal immigration on the rise, Black adults are competing with undocumented workers for those jobs in a cooling labor market, said Eric Ruark, director of research at NumbersUSA, a Virginia-based advocacy group favoring restrictions on legal and illegal immigration.

"Black Americans are more likely to be in occupations where they compete with illegal immigrants," Mr. Ruark said in an email.

U.S. News & World Report: NumbersUSA Vice President Jeremy Beck also commented on the job prospects for Black Americans.

Jeremy Beck, vice president and deputy director at Numbers USA, says he fears the trend of "last hired, first fired" may be coming back for Black workers. Noting the improvement in overall economic conditions for Blacks during the recovery from the pandemic, he adds, "When you truly have a tight labor market, these workers are available and will do the work."

Sen. Vance Pens Letter to HHS over Illegal Aliens using Obamacare

Fri, Jul. 14^th

Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, along with a group of House Republicans, have sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra urging the agency to deny the use of Obamacare to illegal aliens.

New York Times Cheers Migrant Women Pushed to Work in Construction

jared Culver

Thu, Jul. 13^th

The New York Times is really digging deep to slap a sunny narrative on the state of emergency in New York City due to the border crisis. What they have come up with is the “great development” that migrant women desperate for work are joining the dangerous construction industry.

DHS Announces Another "Humanitarian Parole" Process

Wed, Jul. 12^th

The Department of Homeland Security recently announced a new ‘family reunification’ parole process for Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, offering foreign nationals legal entry into the U.S. if they have family members already in the country.

Supreme Court Repeals Take Care Clause

Jared Culver

Tue, Jul. 11^th

In an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court has absolved the Federal Government from the requirement to faithfully execute the laws passed by the duly elected Congress. The issue here was whether the Biden Administration could promulgate enforcement priorities contrary to the laws passed by Congress.

Personal Freedom, Polling...and Pollinators!

Jeremy Beck

Mon, Jul. 10^th

Four out of five Americans say the area where they live either has enough people living there, or is already too crowded. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that America's population will grow by another 70 million in the next 40 years, with immigration accounting for roughly 90%.