Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has strongly criticized President Joe Biden’s latest amnesty initiative, calling it “an affront to the rule of law.” Green’s remarks come in response to Biden’s decision to grant “parole amnesty” to approximately 550,000 illegal immigrants married to U.S. citizens and residing in the country for over a decade.
Green argues that this move by the Biden administration legitimizes unlawful entry into the United States. “By allowing otherwise inadmissible aliens to remain in the country indefinitely through a ‘parole-in-place’ sleight of hand, and to receive generous, taxpayer-funded benefits, this president is sending a loud and clear message to any would-be border crosser that the door is not only wide open — there’s a welcome mat,” Green stated.
Lora Ries, Director of the Border Security and Immigration Center at the Heritage Foundation, echoed Green’s sentiments, criticizing the administration’s use of the parole statute. “Despite being intended for use in extraordinary circumstances only, Biden and Mayorkas have warped the parole statute beyond recognition,” Ries said.
This amnesty decision follows the revelation that the Biden administration has dismissed the asylum proceedings of about 350,000 migrants, a move Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) described as a “covert mass amnesty program.” According to Hawley, these migrants are no longer required to check in with authorities and can seek other avenues to obtain legal status.
Biden’s policy shift to provide legal status to over half a million illegal immigrants and to dismiss the asylum proceedings of hundreds of thousands more comes amid what many describe as an unprecedented illegal immigration crisis. Under Biden’s presidency, authorities have recorded over 9.5 million nationwide encounters with illegal immigrants and an estimated 1.7 million “gotaways.”
The surge in illegal immigration has driven the foreign-born population in the United States to a record high of 51.6 million people. Critics argue that this increase is primarily due to mass illegal immigration, exacerbating the crisis at the nation’s borders.
