The hidden side of politics

Constitution gives Congress, not Biden administration, power to regulate immigration

Reported by Washington Times:

By expanding the narrow and obscure presidential authority to grant “humanitarian parole” – the legal term for temporary admission – and allowing foreigners to enter the United States improperly, the Biden administration is bypassing Congress’s traditional law-making power to regulate legal immigration.

Found in Section 212(d)(5)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, this limited presidential authority to grant humanitarian parole was designed to address individual and case-by-case situations, usually in which someone who otherwise did not qualify for a visa could be permitted temporary admission for humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.

The intent of Congress was clearly to address individual emergency situations, such as when a foreign national requires special medical attention or is needed to appear in a legal hearing. 

The assumption was that there would be a handful of such extraordinary cases, and the “parolees” would return to their countries after the visit. However, turning this narrow authority on its head, the Biden administration has created new programs out of thin air that bestow immigration benefits on hundreds of thousands of migrants who fall outside of the congressional quotas set for visas and refugees.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently announced: “Our program is based on a core principle of the Biden administration, which is when individuals are so desperate to leave the country that is their home … it is our responsibility to build safe, lawful and humane pathways that create opportunities for them so they do not need to avail themselves of the more desperate and dangerous measures that the perilous journey involves.”

The Constitution gives the executive branch no such power. Neither has Congress. While the Framers did not provide explicit direction to the federal government on managing immigration, the Constitution invests the Congress with sole power to “establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization” (Article I, Section 8), which is the basis for the legislative branch to regulate immigration.

In the first century of the republic, Congress concentrated its law-making focus on setting uniform standards for naturalization, that is, rules for becoming an American citizen. Through the late 1800s and into the early 20th century, Congress began to enact laws to limit immigration and to set admission standards for entry into the U.S.  Immigration became a matter of statute, firmly in the domain of the legislature. 

Congress used that law-making authority to establish the Immigration and Nationality Act, first enacted in 1952.  The INA is the comprehensive framework for U.S. law regarding visas, refugees, citizenship, admission and removal. It firmly established the principle that Congress sets legal immigration standards, an authority long accepted by the executive branch.

Accepted, that is, until Team Biden. Biden officials are essentially evading statutory requirements and sending a clear message to the world that the U.S. has open frontiers. 

Data released by the U.S. Border Patrol indicate that Mr. Mayorkas, using Section 212(d)(5)(A), has authorized legal admission to almost 350,000 clandestine migrants intercepted at our southern border in the past year. It is not clear which border-jumpers are turned into parolees and which are not.

In April, the administration announced that the U.S. would admit 100,000 Ukrainians annually based on parole authority, ignoring existing refugee numbers agreed upon in statute. When Ukrainian admissions blew past that ceiling, DHS said simply that 100,000 was “never a cap.” The number of Ukrainians entering the U.S. under this program is now evidently unlimited.

In October, Mr. Mayorkas announced the creation of 24,000 parole admissions for Venezuelans. Given the sheer numbers of migrants heading northward, it seems likely that Mr. Mayorkas will announce a new ceiling for Venezuelans, probably soon.

Similarly, with hundreds of thousands of Afghans fleeing the Taliban after President Biden’s disastrously executed withdrawal last year, the administration is resorting to parole authority to grant admissions, instead of requesting higher refugee quotas or emergency visa authority from Congress.

Other presidents have abused parole authority, but never on the scale of what Mr. Biden has done. Not surprisingly, the Trump administration tried to roll back parole admission programs set up by his predecessor. 

Meanwhile, Congress has unsuccessfully tried to limit the executive’s excessive and probably illegal use of parole authority, and Texas and other states have challenged the administration in court. It is possible that the Supreme Court will get a chance to restore the primacy of Congress on immigration.

But as new parole-based programs are continually invented, Congress cannot stand by and wait for the courts to intervene and protect the rule of law and its own authority. A new legislative majority must urgently move to stop Mr. Biden’s abuse of federal immigration law.

Phillip Linderman is a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies and a retired U.S. career diplomat.

Source:Washington Times

Share

65 Comments

  1. info

    I was very pleased to uncover this page. I wanted to thank you for ones time just for
    this wonderful read!! I definitely enjoyed every bit of it and i also have you saved
    as a favorite to look at new information on your website.

  2. wilfred

    Hey there, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility issues.
    When I look at your website in Chrome, it looks
    fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some
    overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up!

    Other then that, great blog!

  3. wilfred

    Asking questions are in fact nice thing if you are not understanding something totally,
    except this piece of writing presents pleasant understanding yet.

  4. Www.willrichwell.com/community/profile/elana552587846/

    Howdy would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re working with?
    I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m having a hard time selecting between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
    The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something
    completely unique. P.S Apologies for getting off-topic
    but I had to ask!

  5. puertas metalicas madrid

    Have you ever thought about publishing an ebook or guest authoring on other websites?
    I have a blog based upon on the same topics you discuss and would
    really like to have you share some stories/information.
    I know my subscribers would value your work. If you are
    even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an email.

  6. SBOBET

    Hi there! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you
    using for this website? I’m getting fed up
    of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform.
    I would be fantastic if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

  7. SBOBET

    hello there and thank you for your information – I have definitely picked up something new from right here.
    I did however expertise several technical points using this website, since I experienced to reload the
    website many times previous to I could get it to load properly.
    I had been wondering if your hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading
    instances times will sometimes affect your placement in google and could damage your high quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords.
    Well I am adding this RSS to my e-mail and could look out for much more of your respective interesting
    content. Ensure that you update this again very soon.

  8. SBOBET

    Thank you, I have just been searching for information about
    this topic for ages and yours is the greatest I have discovered
    so far. But, what concerning the bottom line? Are you sure concerning the supply?

  9. vivoslot

    I think this is among the such a lot significant info for me.
    And i am happy studying your article. But want to remark on some common issues, The website taste
    is great, the articles is in point of fact excellent : D. Just right activity, cheers

  10. SBOBET

    Have you ever thought about writing an e-book or guest authoring on other blogs?
    I have a blog based upon on the same topics you discuss and would love to
    have you share some stories/information. I know my
    visitors would value your work. If you are even remotely interested,
    feel free to shoot me an e-mail.

  11. joker388

    Hi! I know this is kinda off topic however , I’d figured I’d ask.

    Would you be interested in trading links or maybe guest writing a blog post or vice-versa?
    My site covers a lot of the same subjects as
    yours and I think we could greatly benefit from each other.
    If you are interested feel free to shoot me an email.
    I look forward to hearing from you! Fantastic blog by the way!

  12. SBOBET

    Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates.
    I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping
    maybe you would have some experience with something like
    this. Please let me know if you run into anything.
    I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new
    updates.

  13. informacion cerrajeros

    Does your website have a contact page? I’m having trouble locating it but,
    I’d like to shoot you an e-mail. I’ve got some ideas for your blog you might be interested in hearing.
    Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it
    grow over time.

  14. สาระน่ารู้

    Hey there! I know this is kind of off-topic
    but I had to ask. Does building a well-established blog like
    yours require a lot of work? I’m completely new to blogging however I do write in my journal on a daily
    basis. I’d like to start a blog so I will be
    able to share my experience and views online. Please let me know if you have any kind of suggestions or tips for new aspiring blog owners.
    Appreciate it!

    My web page: สาระน่ารู้

  15. @kidsontheyard

    Someone necessaгily lend a hand to make critically ρosts
    I might state. That is the first time I frequented
    your web page and up to now? I surpriѕed with the analysis
    you made to make this actual put up incrediblе.

    Excellent job!

    my homepage @kidsontheyard

  16. site

    My relatives always saay that I am wasting my time here at web,
    however I know I aam getting familiarity all
    thhe time by reading such fastidious articles orr reviews.

    Sport site
    Entraînement dee culturiste

  17. wilfred

    Link exchange is nothing else however it is just placing the
    other person’s blog link on your page at proper place and other person will also do similar for you.

  18. wilfred

    I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the
    layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself?
    Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare
    to see a great blog like this one today.

FOLLOW @ NATIONAL HILL