The Biden administration has released roughly 160,000 illegal immigrants into the US since March by using an expansive view of limited parole that makes them eligible for work permits, according to a report Wednesday.
Since March 20, 94,750 illegal immigrants have been allowed in the US with “Notices to Report,” meaning they are required to check in with an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officer when they reach their final destination, Fox News reported, citing Border Patrol documents.
As long as they abide by the regulations and while their asylum claims are being processed, they will not be deported or detained.
Another 32,000 illegal immigrants have been released into the US since Aug. 6 on parole, which gives them a limited status to remain in the country and makes them eligible for work permits.
Nearly 40,000 illegal immigrants have been released since Aug. 6 on their own recognizance, including 128 single adults let go in a single day near Del Rio, Texas, without being required to wear an ankle monitor or tracked by phone as part of the “Alternatives to Detention program.”
Former Border Patrol chief Rodney Scott told Fox News that he believes the administration is abusing the parole program that is reserved for “urgent humanitarian purposes” and “significant public benefit.”
While immigration officials usually grant a handful of cases parole, Scott claimed the Biden administration is wielding it more broadly, including giving parole to thousands of Afghans as part of Operation Allies Welcome, the Afghanistan evacuation operation.
“By law and regulation, a parole shall only be granted on a case-by-case basis and only for significant humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. Neither of these appear to apply to the current situation,” he said, noting that the number of paroles granted raises questions about the approval process.
“As a field chief, I don’t believe I ever approved more than five or 10 paroles in a year,” said Scott, who was forced out in June by the Biden administration. “When I did, I ensured that the alien was monitored continuously and was detained or removed as soon as the circumstances allowed.”
A Customs and Border Protection official told Fox News that programs like paroling, Notices to Report and Alternatives to Detention provide ”mechanisms to require family units released from CBP custody to report to ICE within a specified time.”
He also pointed out that 81 percent of illegal immigrants released into the US between 2014 and 2020 did not report to their immigration proceedings.
The number of encounters between Border Patrol agents and illegal immigrants reached 200,000 in July and August, the highest totals in 20 years.
September’s numbers haven’t been released yet.
President Biden has been criticized for rolling back or ending many of the immigration policies of former President Donald Trump since taking office in January, including the construction of the border wall and the Remain in Mexico program.
