Parole: It’s an odd word choice in the nearly open borders Biden administration. But that’s the program based on “urgent humanitarian or significant public benefit reasons” under fire for losing a slew of illegal immigrants caught and then released under commitment to show up for a future hearing. Why? Well, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) didn’t bother to send a summons to 80% of them – and only a handful kept the commitment. Imagine that.
President Joe Biden still assumes there is no crisis at the US southern border with Mexico, yet in the fiscal year 2022, authorities recorded 2.4 million encounters with lawbreakers jumping the official “wait here” line – the most ever recorded. It is estimated that 102,000 people were paroled from Cuba and Central and South America between October 2022 and April 2023.
According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (UCSIS) site:
“We typically grant parole for no more than one year, although we may grant parole for a longer duration depending on the reason for the parole. Parole ends on the date the parole period expires or when a parolee departs the United States or acquires an immigration status, whichever occurs first.”
That’s government-speak for “we have a policy that we don’t bother enforcing,” in case you needed a translation.
Illegal Immigrants Meet Their Match
But then here comes US District Judge T. Kent Wetherell. He’s a thorn in the side of the Biden Bunch and an outspoken, self-proclaimed skeptic of the media. Last May, the Florida judge barred the administration from putting new plans in effect after the demise of Title 42. Wetherell issued a restraining order against the Department of Homeland Security, which promptly violated the order and reportedly released 2,500 immigrants to parts unknown. A concerned Wetherell said:
“These statistics are troubling, to say the least. But even more troubling is the fact that DHS apparently does not have a plan in place to track the aliens who are in violation of conditions of their ‘parole’ and thus unlawfully in the country.”
DHS fired back: “DHS maintains its commitment that individuals have an obligation to comply with requirements imposed by DHS and ICE,” said Justice Department attorney Sarah B. Fabian. Like most Americans, Wetherell remains doubtful the agency “is serious.”
Another Fine Mess
Since taking office, Joe Biden has attempted to unroll his predecessors’ executive orders on how to secure the border with Mexico. The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) keeps a tally of these edicts from the Oval Office:
“From January 20, 2021, through January 19, 2023, the Biden administration took 403 immigration-related actions, according to calculations by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), putting it on track to soon overtake the 472 immigration-related executive actions MPI counted for all four years of the Trump administration.”
(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
It is safe to say whatever he is doing is not working. But Biden trudges along. Under his watch, the administration significantly increased the use of alternatives to detention (ATD) programs that track through technology via smartphone apps and strapped-on ankle monitors as the painfully backlogged and sluggish immigration cases proceed through the courts.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alexander Mayorkas continues to snub his nose at Congressional Republicans and federal judges while refusing to admit he has a border problem. That might just be political party suicide. But, in all seriousness, how many chances do illegal immigrants have until they are told to go home? It seems unlimited.
