What This Bill Does
This bill changes the rules for how the Secretary of Homeland Security can allow foreign nationals to temporarily enter the United States through a process called parole. The bill limits when parole can be granted and requires the Secretary to make decisions on a case-by-case basis rather than for entire groups of people.
Who It Affects
The Department of Homeland Security, foreign nationals seeking entry to the United States, spouses and children of active duty Armed Forces members, Cuban nationals, people needing emergency medical treatment, organ donors, people attending funerals, and adopted children with medical emergencies.
Key Provisions
• The Secretary of Homeland Security can only grant parole for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, and must decide each case individually rather than creating blanket policies for groups of people (Sec. 2)
• Urgent humanitarian reasons are limited to specific situations including medical emergencies, being a parent of a sick child, donating organs, attending a dying relative or funeral, or being an adopted child with urgent medical needs (Sec. 2)
• People granted parole who do not have lawful immigration status can be granted parole if they have an approved family petition, are not otherwise removable, and are a spouse or child of an active duty Armed Forces member (Sec. 2)
• Parole generally lasts for the shorter of one year or the time needed to accomplish the reason for parole, and can be extended once for up to one additional year (Sec. 2)
• The Secretary of Homeland Security must submit a yearly report to Congress and the public about total numbers of people paroled and details about their parole including duration and type (Sec. 2)
What Changes
The bill replaces the current parole rules with new restrictions on who qualifies for parole. It requires that parole decisions be made individually for each person rather than for entire categories of people. People granted parole cannot work, except those granted parole under the Armed Forces family member or Cuban national provisions. Parole will no longer count as legal admission, which affects whether someone can adjust their immigration status later. People paroled after traveling outside the United States cannot change their immigration status to lawful permanent resident (green card holder) unless they had legal status that allowed that before they left.
Important Definitions
The bill defines "case-by-case basis" to mean that facts in each individual case are considered and parole is not granted based on membership in a defined class or group of people. The bill states that considering people one-by-one rather than as a group is not enough to satisfy this requirement (Sec. 2).
Effective Date
The bill takes effect 30 days after becoming law, with specific exceptions. Applications for parole filed before the law passes are decided under the old rules. Parole rules about status adjustment take effect immediately. People already paroled before January 1, 2023 follow the rules that existed when they were paroled (Sec. 3).
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 505
To amend section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to
reform immigration parole, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 16, 2023
Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. COTTON, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. VANCE, Mr.
LANKFORD, Mr. TUBERVILLE, Mrs. BRITT, Mr. LEE, and Ms. ERNST)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act to reform immigration parole, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Immigration Parole
4
Reform Act of 2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. IMMIGRATION PAROLE REFORM.
6
Section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality
7
Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)) is amended to read as follows:
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‘‘(5)(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B)
1
and (C) and section 214(f), the Secretary of Homeland
2
Security, in the discretion of the Secretary, may tempo-
3
rarily parole into the United States any alien applying for
4
admission to the United States who is not present in the
5
United States, under such conditions as the Secretary may
6
prescribe, on a case-by-case basis, and not according to
7
eligibility criteria describing an entire class of potential
8
parole recipients, for urgent humanitarian reasons or sig-
9
nificant public benefit. Parole granted under this subpara-
10
graph may not be regarded as an admission of the alien.
11
When the purposes of such parole have been served in the
12
opinion of the Secretary, the alien shall immediately re-
13
turn or be returned to the custody from which the alien
14
was paroled. After such return, the case of the alien shall
15
be dealt with in the same manner as the case of any other
16
applicant for admission to the United States.
17
‘‘(B) The Secretary of Homeland Security may grant
18
parole to any alien who—
19
‘‘(i) is present in the United States without
20
lawful immigration status;
21
‘‘(ii) is the beneficiary of an approved petition
22
under section 203(a);
23
‘‘(iii) is not otherwise inadmissible or remov-
24
able; and
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‘‘(iv) is the spouse or child of a member of the
1
Armed Forces serving on active duty.
2
‘‘(C) The Secretary of Homeland Security may grant
3
parole to any alien—
4
‘‘(i) who is a national of the Republic of Cuba
5
and is living in the Republic of Cuba;
6
‘‘(ii) who is the beneficiary of an approved peti-
7
tion under section 203(a);
8
‘‘(iii) for whom an immigrant visa is not imme-
9
diately available;
10
‘‘(iv) who meets all eligibility requirements for
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an immigrant visa;
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‘‘(v) who is not otherwise inadmissible; and
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‘‘(vi) who is receiving a grant of parole in fur-
14
therance of the commitment of the United States to
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the minimum level of annual legal migration of
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Cuban nationals to the United States specified in
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the U.S.–Cuba Joint Communique´ on Migration,
18
done at New York September 9, 1994, and re-
19
affirmed in the Cuba-United States: Joint Statement
20
on Normalization of Migration, Building on the
21
Agreement of September 9, 1994, done at New York
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May 2, 1995.
23
‘‘(D) For purposes of determining an alien’s eligi-
24
bility for parole under subparagraph (A), an urgent hu-
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•S 505 IS
manitarian reason shall be limited to circumstances in
1
which the alien establishes that—
2
‘‘(i)(I) the alien has a medical emergency; and
3
‘‘(II)(aa) the alien cannot obtain necessary
4
treatment in the foreign state in which the alien is
5
residing; or
6
‘‘(bb) the medical emergency is life-threatening
7
and there is insufficient time for the alien to be ad-
8
mitted through the normal visa process;
9
‘‘(ii) the alien is the parent or legal guardian of
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an alien described in clause (i) and the alien de-
11
scribed in clause (i) is a minor;
12
‘‘(iii) the alien is needed in the United States
13
in order to donate an organ or other tissue for
14
transplant and there is insufficient time for the alien
15
to be admitted through the normal visa process;
16
‘‘(iv) the alien has a close family member in the
17
United States whose death is imminent and the alien
18
could not arrive in the United States in time to see
19
such family member alive if the alien were to be ad-
20
mitted through the normal visa process;
21
‘‘(v) the alien is seeking to attend the funeral
22
of a close family member and the alien could not ar-
23
rive in the United States in time to attend such fu-
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neral if the alien were to be admitted through the
1
normal visa process;
2
‘‘(vi) the alien is an adopted child with an ur-
3
gent medical condition who is in the legal custody of
4
the petitioner for a final adoption-related visa and
5
whose medical treatment is required before the ex-
6
pected award of a final adoption-related visa; or
7
‘‘(vii) the alien is a lawful applicant for adjust-
8
ment of status under section 245 and is returning
9
to the United States after temporary travel abroad.
10
‘‘(E) For purposes of determining an alien’s eligi-
11
bility for parole under subparagraph (A), a significant
12
public benefit may be determined to result from the parole
13
of an alien only if—
14
‘‘(i) the alien has assisted (or will assist, wheth-
15
er knowingly or not) the United States Government
16
in a law enforcement matter;
17
‘‘(ii) the alien’s presence is required by the Gov-
18
ernment in furtherance of such law enforcement
19
matter; and
20
‘‘(iii) the alien is inadmissible, does not satisfy
21
the eligibility requirements for admission as a non-
22
immigrant, or there is insufficient time for the alien
23
to be admitted through the normal visa process.
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‘‘(F) For purposes of determining an alien’s eligi-
1
bility for parole under subparagraph (A), the term ‘case-
2
by-case basis’ means that the facts in each individual case
3
are considered and parole is not granted based on mem-
4
bership in a defined class of aliens to be granted parole.
5
The fact that aliens are considered for or granted parole
6
one-by-one and not as a group is not sufficient to establish
7
that the parole decision is made on a ‘case-by-case basis’.
8
‘‘(G) The Secretary of Homeland Security may not
9
use the parole authority under this paragraph to parole
10
an alien into the United States for any reason or purpose
11
other than those described in subparagraphs (B), (C), (D),
12
and (E).
13
‘‘(H) An alien granted parole may not accept employ-
14
ment, except that an alien granted parole pursuant to sub-
15
paragraph (B) or (C) is authorized to accept employment
16
for the duration of the parole, as evidenced by an employ-
17
ment authorization document issued by the Secretary of
18
Homeland Security.
19
‘‘(I) Parole granted after a departure from the
20
United States shall not be regarded as an admission of
21
the alien. An alien granted parole, whether as an initial
22
grant of parole or parole upon reentry into the United
23
States, is not eligible to adjust status to lawful permanent
24
residence or for any other immigration benefit if the immi-
25
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•S 505 IS
gration status the alien had at the time of departure did
1
not authorize the alien to adjust status or to be eligible
2
for such benefit.
3
‘‘(J)(i) Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii),
4
parole shall be granted to an alien under this paragraph
5
for the shorter of—
6
‘‘(I) a period of sufficient length to accomplish
7
the activity described in subparagraph (D) or (E)
8
for which the alien was granted parole; or
9
‘‘(II) 1 year.
10
‘‘(ii) Grants of parole pursuant to subparagraph (A)
11
may be extended once, in the discretion of the Secretary,
12
for an additional period that is the shorter of—
13
‘‘(I) the period that is necessary to accomplish
14
the activity described in subparagraph (D) or (E)
15
for which the alien was granted parole; or
16
‘‘(II) 1 year.
17
‘‘(iii) Aliens who have a pending application to adjust
18
status to permanent residence under section 245 may re-
19
quest extensions of parole under this paragraph, in 1-year
20
increments, until the application for adjustment has been
21
adjudicated. Such parole shall terminate immediately upon
22
the denial of such adjustment application.
23
‘‘(K) Not later than 90 days after the last day of
24
each fiscal year, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall
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submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate
1
and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep-
2
resentatives and make available to the public, a report—
3
‘‘(i) identifying the total number of aliens pa-
4
roled into the United States under this paragraph
5
during the previous fiscal year; and
6
‘‘(ii) containing information and data regarding
7
all aliens paroled during such fiscal year, includ-
8
ing—
9
‘‘(I) the duration of parole;
10
‘‘(II) the type of parole; and
11
‘‘(III) the current status of the aliens so
12
paroled.’’.
13
SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION.
14
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection
15
(b), this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall
16
take effect on the date that is 30 days after the date of
17
the enactment of this Act.
18
(b) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a)—
19
(1) any application for parole or advance parole
20
filed by an alien before the date of the enactment of
21
this Act shall be adjudicated under the law that was
22
in effect on the date on which the application was
23
properly filed and any approved advance parole shall
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•S 505 IS
remain valid under the law that was in effect on the
1
date on which the advance parole was approved;
2
(2) section 212(d)(5)(I) of the Immigration and
3
Nationality Act, as added by section 2(b), shall take
4
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act; and
5
(3) aliens who were paroled into the United
6
States pursuant to section 212(d)(5)(A) of the Im-
7
migration
and
Nationality
Act
(8
U.S.C.
8
1182(d)(5)(A)) before January 1, 2023, shall con-
9
tinue to be subject to the terms of parole that were
10
in effect on the date on which their respective parole
11
was approved.
12
SEC. 4. CAUSE OF ACTION.
13
Any person, State, or local government that experi-
14
ences financial harm in excess of $1,000 due to a failure
15
of the Federal Government to lawfully apply the provisions
16
of this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall have
17
standing to bring a civil action against the Federal Gov-
18
ernment in an appropriate district court of the United
19
States.
20
SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY.
21
If any provision of this Act or any amendment by
22
this Act, or the application of such provision or amend-
23
ment to any person or circumstance, is held to be uncon-
24
stitutional, the remainder of this Act and the application
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of such provision or amendment to any other person or
1
circumstance shall not be affected.
2
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