Congressman McDowell Introduces Legislation to End Biden-era Mass Immigration Parole
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Addison McDowell (NC-06) introduced the Preventing the Abuse of Immigration Parole Act. This bold legislation would shut down the mass parole loophole, abused by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during the Biden Administration.
Under current law, immigration parole is intended to be used on a case-by-case basis for individuals with an urgent humanitarian need or who offer a significant public benefit. But under President Biden, Secretary Mayorkas granted parole to over 2.8 million aliens, bypassing visa procedures, dodging background checks, and overwhelming American communities.
“Immigration parole is not a rubber stamp for open-border bureaucrats to grant entry into America by the millions,” said Congressman McDowell. “When you parole foreign nationals in waves with no real vetting, it undermines the purpose of the law and compromises our national security, putting American lives at risk. This bill restores common sense by capping parole and shutting out hostile regimes.”
The Preventing the Abuse of Immigration Parole Act would:
Prohibit parole for nationals from countries of concern—including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Syria—without a waiver from the Secretary of State.
Cap the number of parolees at 3,000 individuals per fiscal year starting in 2029.
Support for the bill continues to grow among members of Congress and advocacy organizations:
Supportive organizations include:
NumbersUSA stated:
"The Biden Administration's misuse of asylum and parole led to the largest border and immigration crisis in American history. This legislation will prevent a future Biden-style immigration catastrophe by requiring aliens to be admitted on a case-by-case basis instead of en masse by the millions. The bill importantly caps the total number of aliens that can be paroled into the country at 3,000 annually."
Immigration Accountability Project stated:
"The Biden Administration's abuse of parole authority was truly unprecedented, operating as an alternative immigration system established by executive fiat, which allowed millions of illegal aliens to be released into the country with work authorization. While the Trump Administration is winding down these unlawful parole programs, lasting reform requires Congress to exercise its plenary power over immigration and fulfill its obligation to fix systemic problems. We are thankful to Congressman McDowell for taking action by introducing the Preventing the Abuse of Immigration Parole Act, which would restrict parole for nationals from countries that are identified as posing a national security risk and numerically limit parole to prevent future abuse. This legislation would help restore clarity and responsible limits to the use of immigration parole authority."
Original co-sponsors of the bill include:
Rep. Randy Weber (TX-14)
Rep. Riley Moore (WV-02)
Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO-03)
Rep. Ralph Norman (SC-05)
Rep. Abraham Hamadeh (AZ-08)
Rep. Glenn Grothman (WI-06)
Rep. Virginia Foxx (NC-05)
Rep. Nicholas Langworthy (NY-23)
Rep. Doug LaMalfa (CA-01)
Rep. Craig Goldman (TX-12)
Supportive organizations include:
Immigration Accountability Project (IAP)
Read the full bill text here.