[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.
                                 ______