https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/amnesties-all-the-way-down/
The amnesty the White House announced today is simply the latest — and maybe not even the largest — of its many unilateral decrees legalizing and/or letting into the country individuals who have no right to be in the United States. Unless Congress is willing to completely cede its power over immigration, as it has over war-making, it will at some point need to radically restrict a president’s discretion, in detail and without waivers or wiggle room.
This latest executive diktat from the defenders of democracy would give work permits and Social Security numbers to an estimated half a million illegal-alien spouses of U.S. citizens, plus 50,000 illegal-aliens kids of those spouses. It’s called “parole in place,” which was totally made up in 2020, when Speaker Nancy Pelosi snuck it past the asleep-at-the-switch Republican Senate for the spouses of military personnel only.
Immigration parole is supposed to be a narrow exception to immigration limits, temporarily allowing in what is supposed to be a handful of inadmissible aliens for things like emergency medical treatment or court testimony, after which they’re supposed to be escorted back to the border. This administration has already used it to admit more than a million foreigners who don’t qualify for legal entry.
The parole-in-place confection paroles someone retroactively, thus legalizing a border-jumper’s infiltration into the U.S. It confers significant benefits: beyond a work permit and SSN, it also puts beneficiaries on the path to welfare eligibility, a green card, and eventual citizenship.
As my colleague Andrew Arthur points out, even if the program survives court challenge, it incentivizes large-scale fraud and will further lengthen the wait for foreign spouses of U.S. citizens who are waiting for authorization to enter the U.S. legally.