The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, led by Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, chaired by Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), have initiated a probe into the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) use of parole authority to usher in thousands of inadmissible aliens.
In a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the Republican lawmakers request documents and communications regarding the alleged misuse of parole authorities.
“The Committee on Oversight and Accountability continues to investigate the Biden Administration’s disastrous policies and mismanagement that have contributed to a historic border crisis,” stated the lawmakers.
They maintain that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has unlawfully granted “categorical parole, in violation of clear statutory language, to large numbers of inadmissible aliens.”
According to the lawmakers, the alleged abuse of parole authority is evidenced by the fact that “the Biden Administration has paroled over a million inadmissible aliens into the United States in just over the last two years.”
They point to both illegal border crossers apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents and inadmissible aliens presenting themselves at ports of entry after making appointments through the CBP One mobile application.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), parole authority is to be used for inadmissible aliens “only on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”
The lawmakers argue that the Biden Administration has been misusing this statute, not only granting parole on a limited “case-by-case basis” but also to “tens of thousands of inadmissible aliens fitting within certain categories.”
The committee further highlights that “illegal aliens given unlawful categorical parole through these programs will likely live in the United States for years before they are issued a Notice to Appear (NTA) in immigration court given the massive scheduling backlogs at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices.”
The Committee has therefore requested documents and communications from DHS to further investigate the allegations and address the concerns about the administration’s handling of the border crisis.
