R46570 — Immigration Parole

The parole provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) gives the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) discretionary authority to “parole into the United States temporarily under such conditions as he may prescribe only on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit any alien [foreign national] applying for admission to the United States.” Immigration parole is official permission to enter and remain temporarily in the United States. It does not constitute formal admission under the U.S. immigration system. An individual granted parole (a parolee) is still considered an applicant for admission. A parolee is permitted to remain in the United States for the duration of the grant of parole, and may be granted work authorization. The DHS Secretary’s parole authority has been delegated to three agencies within the department: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Parole can be requested by foreign nationals inside or outside the United States in a range of circumstances. Major parole categories include port-of-entry parole, advance parole, and humanitarian parole. Available data on immigration parole are limited. In response to congressional mandates, DHS produced reports containing parole data for FY2022 and FY2023. For FY2023, DHS reported that it made a total of 1,340,002 parole grants, the overwhelming majority of which (1,244,348) were made by CBP. Over the years, U.S. Administrations have used parole authority to bring in members of various groups of foreign nationals seeking long-term admission to the country, including Indochinese refugees, Cuban nationals, and Central American minors. Although created in response to specific circumstances, there are certain commonalities among these special parole programs. Many can be grouped under at least one of three headings: refugee-related parole programs, family reunification parole programs, and Cuban parole programs. This use of parole authority to enable designated populations abroad to enter the United States has been particularly controversial. Some policymakers have argued that such programs are an appropriate use of the DHS Secretary’s statutory authority, while others see them as violations of the “case-by-case basis” requirement of the parole provision. Reflecting the latter view, President Donald Trump’s 2025 Executive Order (E.O.) 14159, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” directs Administration officials to “[ensure] that the parole authority ... is exercised on only a case-by-case basis in accordance with the plain language of the statute.” Parole does not grant, nor entitle beneficiaries to later obtain, a lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. Beginning in the mid-1950s, Congress passed measures that established processes to grant LPR status to specified groups of parolees. Since the enactment of a 1960 law, persons with parole in the United States have been able to apply for and be granted LPR status, but to do so they must be eligible to receive an immigrant visa and meet other requirements. Bills introduced and considered in recent Congresses embody differing views on the appropriate use of immigration parole authority. There have been proposals to amend the INA provision to restrict the DHS Secretary’s use of parole. There also have been proposals to utilize parole authority to grant temporary immigration relief to specified populations as well as to establish mechanisms to enable parolees to obtain LPR status.

Curated by CRS — every bill listed in this report's relatedMaterials. Edge type cited_in_report, gold confidence.

• HR 3725 — Preventing the Abuse of Immigration Parole Act · 119th Cong
• S 1589 — Immigration Parole Reform Act of 2025 · 119th Cong
• HR 696 — End Unaccountable Amnesty Act · 119th Cong
• S 4818 — Safeguarding Americans From Extremist Risk (SAFER) at the Border Act · 118th Cong
• HR 4627 — Afghan Adjustment Act · 118th Cong
• HR 3911 — Ukrainian Adjustment Act of 2023 · 118th Cong
• S 3276 — HOPE Act · 118th Cong
• HR 2640 — Border Security and Enforcement Act of 2023 · 118th Cong
• S 2327 — Afghan Adjustment Act · 118th Cong
• S 2324 — Ensuring American Security and Protecting Afghan Allies Act · 118th Cong
• HR 194 — SECURE America Act · 118th Cong
• HR 2 — Secure the Border Act of 2023 · 118th Cong