[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 24 (Friday, February 9, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S706-S707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1502. Mr. TUBERVILLE submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed to amendment SA 1388 submitted by Mrs. Murray (for herself and
Mr. Schumer) and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 815, to amend
title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements relating to
the eligibility of veterans to receive reimbursement for emergency
treatment furnished through the Veterans Community Care program, and
for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
TITLE __--IMMIGRATION PAROLE REFORM
SECTION __1. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Immigration Parole Reform
Act of 2024''.
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 subparagraphs (B) and (C)
and 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) The Secretary of Homeland Security may grant parole
to any alien--
``(i) who is a national of the Republic of Cuba and is
living in the Republic of Cuba;
``(ii) who is the beneficiary of an approved petition under
section 203(a);
``(iii) for whom an immigrant visa is not immediately
available;
``(iv) who meets all eligibility requirements for an
immigrant visa;
``(v) who is not otherwise inadmissible; and
``(vi) who is receiving a grant of parole in furtherance of
the commitment of the United States to the minimum level of
annual legal migration of Cuban nationals to the United
States specified in the U.S.-Cuba Joint Communique on
Migration, done at New York September 9, 1994, and reaffirmed
in the Cuba-United States: Joint Statement on Normalization
of Migration, Building on the Agreement of September 9, 1994,
done at New York May 2, 1995.
``(D) For purposes of determining an alien's eligibility
for parole under subparagraph (A), an urgent humanitarian
reason shall be limited to circumstances in which the alien
establishes that--
``(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
[[Page S707]]
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.
``(E) 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.
``(F) 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'.
``(G) The Secretary of Homeland Security may not use the
parole authority under this paragraph to parole an alien into
the United States for any reason or purpose other than those
described in subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), and (E).
``(H) An alien granted parole may not accept employment,
except that an alien granted parole pursuant to subparagraph
(B) or (C) is authorized to accept employment for the
duration of the parole, as evidenced by an employment
authorization document issued by the Secretary of Homeland
Security.
``(I) 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.
``(J)(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 (D) or (E) 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 (D) or (E) 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.
``(K) 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
title and the amendments made by this title 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)(I) 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) 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 January 1, 2023, shall
continue to be subject to the terms of parole that were in
effect on the date on which their respective parole was
approved.
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
title or the amendments made by this title 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 title or any amendment by this
title, or the application of such provision or amendment to
any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional,
the remainder of this title and the application of such
provision or amendment to any other person or circumstance
shall not be affected.
______