[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5301 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5301
To amend section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to
reform immigration parole, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 19, 2022
Mr. Grassley introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to
reform immigration parole, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Immigration Parole Reform Act of
2022''.
SEC. 2. IMMIGRATION PAROLE REFORM.
Section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1182(d)(5)) is amended to read as follows:
``(5)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) or section 214(f),
the Secretary of Homeland Security, in the discretion of the Secretary,
may temporarily parole into the United States any alien applying for
admission to the United States who is not present in the United States,
under such conditions as the Secretary may prescribe, on a case-by-case
basis, and not according to eligibility criteria describing an entire
class of potential parole recipients, for urgent humanitarian reasons
or significant public benefit. Parole granted under this subparagraph
may not be regarded as an admission of the alien. When the purposes of
such parole have been served in the opinion of the Secretary, the alien
shall immediately return or be returned to the custody from which the
alien was paroled. After such return, the case of the alien shall be
dealt with in the same manner as the case of any other applicant for
admission to the United States.
``(B) The Secretary of Homeland Security may grant parole to any
alien who--
``(i) is present in the United States without lawful
immigration status;
``(ii) is the beneficiary of an approved petition under
section 203(a);
``(iii) is not otherwise inadmissible or removable; and
``(iv) is the spouse or child of a member of the Armed
Forces serving on active duty.
``(C) For purposes of determining an alien's eligibility for parole
under subparagraph (A), an urgent humanitarian reason shall be limited
to circumstances in which--
``(i)(I) the alien has a medical emergency; and
``(II)(aa) the alien cannot obtain necessary treatment in
the foreign state in which the alien is residing; or
``(bb) the medical emergency is life-threatening and there
is insufficient time for the alien to be admitted through the
normal visa process;
``(ii) the alien is the parent or legal guardian of an
alien described in clause (i) and the alien described in clause
(i) is a minor;
``(iii) the alien is needed in the United States in order
to donate an organ or other tissue for transplant and there is
insufficient time for the alien to be admitted through the
normal visa process;
``(iv) the alien has a close family member in the United
States whose death is imminent and the alien could not arrive
in the United States in time to see such family member alive if
the alien were to be admitted through the normal visa process;
``(v) the alien is seeking to attend the funeral of a close
family member and the alien could not arrive in the United
States in time to attend such funeral if the alien were to be
admitted through the normal visa process;
``(vi) the alien is an adopted child with an urgent medical
condition who is in the legal custody of the petitioner for a
final adoption-related visa and whose medical treatment is
required before the expected award of a final adoption-related
visa; or
``(vii) the alien is a lawful applicant for adjustment of
status under section 245 and is returning to the United States
after temporary travel abroad.
``(D) For purposes of determining an alien's eligibility for parole
under subparagraph (A), a significant public benefit may be determined
to result from the parole of an alien only if--
``(i) the alien has assisted (or will assist, whether
knowingly or not) the United States Government in a law
enforcement matter;
``(ii) the alien's presence is required by the Government
in furtherance of such law enforcement matter; and
``(iii) the alien is inadmissible, does not satisfy the
eligibility requirements for admission as a nonimmigrant, or
there is insufficient time for the alien to be admitted through
the normal visa process.
``(E) For purposes of determining an alien's eligibility for parole
under subparagraph (A), the term `case-by-case basis' means that the
facts in each individual case are considered and parole is not granted
based on membership in a defined class of aliens to be granted parole.
The fact that aliens are considered for or granted parole one-by-one
and not as a group is not sufficient to establish that the parole
decision is made on a `case-by-case basis'.
``(F) The Secretary of Homeland Security may not use the parole
authority under this paragraph--
``(i) to allow an alien who is the beneficiary of a pending
or approved immigrant petition to enter the United States
(except as otherwise authorized under this paragraph) before an
immigrant visa is issued to such alien;
``(ii) to parole into the United States aliens entering for
the purpose of performing skilled or unskilled labor;
``(iii) to parole into the United States aliens seeking to
undertake activities described in existing nonimmigrant
classifications, including by paroling aliens seeking to
undertake activities authorized under section 101(a)(15)(B) and
who are nationals of a country that has not been designated as
a program country under section 212(l) or 217;
``(iv) to parole into the United States an alien who is a
refugee or who is described in a designated class of aliens
granted access to the United States Refugee Admissions Program,
unless such alien may otherwise be paroled under this
paragraph; or
``(v) to parole an alien into the United States for any
reason or purpose other than those described in subparagraphs
(C) and (D).
``(G) Parole granted after a departure from the United States shall
not be regarded as an admission of the alien. An alien granted parole,
whether as an initial grant of parole or parole upon reentry into the
United States, is not eligible to adjust status to lawful permanent
residence or for any other immigration benefit if the immigration
status the alien had at the time of departure did not authorize the
alien to adjust status or to be eligible for such benefit.
``(H)(i) Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii), parole shall
be granted to an alien under this paragraph for the shorter of--
``(I) a period of sufficient length to accomplish the
activity described in subparagraph (C) or (D) for which the
alien was granted parole; or
``(II) 1 year.
``(ii) Grants of parole pursuant to subparagraph (A) may be
extended once, in the discretion of the Secretary, for an additional
period that is the shorter of--
``(I) the period that is necessary to accomplish the
activity described in subparagraph (C) or (D) for which the
alien was granted parole; or
``(II) 1 year.
``(iii) Aliens who have a pending application to adjust status to
permanent residence under section 245 may request extensions of parole
under this paragraph, in 1-year increments, until the application for
adjustment has been adjudicated. Such parole shall terminate
immediately upon the denial of such adjustment application.
``(I) Not later than 90 days after the last day of each fiscal
year, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the Committee
on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of
the House of Representatives and make available to the public, a
report--
``(i) identifying the total number of aliens paroled into
the United States under this paragraph during the previous
fiscal year; and
``(ii) containing information and data regarding all aliens
paroled during such fiscal year, including--
``(I) the duration of parole;
``(II) the type of parole; and
``(III) the current status of the aliens so
paroled.''.
SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act and
the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that is
30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Exceptions.--Notwithstanding subsection (a)--
(1) any application for parole or advance parole filed by
an alien before the date of the enactment of this Act shall be
adjudicated under the law that was in effect on the date on
which the application was properly filed and any approved
advance parole shall remain valid under the law that was in
effect on the date on which the advance parole was approved;
(2) section 212(d)(5)(G) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act, as added by section 2(b), shall take effect on the date of
the enactment of this Act; and
(3) the provisions of this Act, and the amendments made by
this Act, affecting aliens who were paroled into the United
States pursuant to section 212(d)(5)(A) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(A)) before the date of the
enactment of this Act shall take effect on the date that is 180
days after such date of enactment.
SEC. 4. CAUSE OF ACTION.
Any person, State, or local government that experiences financial
harm in excess of $1,000 due to a failure of the Federal Government to
lawfully apply the provisions of this Act or the amendments made by
this Act shall have standing to bring a civil action against the
Federal Government in an appropriate district court of the United
States.
SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act or any amendment by this Act, or the
application of such provision or amendment to any person or
circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act
and the application of such provision or amendment to any other person
or circumstance shall not be affected.
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