I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6477 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform the process for 

inspection of applicants for admission. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2023 

Mr. WEBER of Texas (for himself, Mr. CARTER of Texas, Mr. SELF, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, and Ms. FOXX) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to reform 

the process for inspection of applicants for admission. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 TITLE I—INSPECTION OF 

4 APPLICANTS FOR ADMISSION 

5 SEC. 101. INSPECTION OF APPLICANTS FOR ADMISSION. 

6 Section 235 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

7 (8 U.S.C. 1225) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (b)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (I) in clauses (i) and (ii), by 

2 striking ‘‘section 212(a)(6)(C)’’ in3 serting ‘‘subparagraph (A) or (C) of 

4 section 212(a)(6)’’; and 

5 (II) by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(iv) INELIGIBILITY FOR PAROLE.— 

8 An alien described in clause (i) or (ii) shall 

9 not be eligible for parole except as ex10 pressly authorized pursuant to section 

11 212(d)(5), or for parole or release pursu12 ant to section 236(a).’’; and 

13 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

14 (I) in clause (ii), by striking 

15 ‘‘asylum.’’ and inserting ‘‘asylum and 

16 shall not be released (including pursu17 ant to parole or release pursuant to 

18 section 236(a) but excluding as ex19 pressly authorized pursuant to section 

20 212(d)(5)) other than to be removed 

21 or returned to a country as described 

22 in paragraph (3).’’; and 

23 (II) in clause (iii)(IV)— 

24 (aa) in the header by strik25 ing ‘‘DETENTION’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘DETENTION, RETURN, OR RE2 MOVAL’’; and 

3 (bb) by adding at the end 

4 the following: ‘‘The alien shall 

5 not be released (including pursu6 ant to parole or release pursuant 

7 to section 236(a) but excluding 

8 as expressly authorized pursuant 

9 to section 212(d)(5)) other than 

10 to be removed or returned to a 

11 country as described in para12 graph (3).’’; 

13 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

15 (I) by striking ‘‘Subject to sub16 paragraphs (B) and (C),’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘Subject to subparagraph (B) and 

18 paragraph (3),’’; and 

19 (II) by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: ‘‘The alien shall not be re21 leased (including pursuant to parole 

22 or release pursuant to section 236(a) 

23 but excluding as expressly authorized 

24 pursuant to section 212(d)(5)) other 

25 than to be removed or returned to a 


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1 country as described in paragraph 

2 (3).’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

4 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

5 paragraph (5); and 

6 (D) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(3) RETURN TO FOREIGN TERRITORY CONTIG9 UOUS TO THE UNITED STATES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security may return to a foreign ter12 ritory contiguous to the United States any alien 

13 arriving on land from that territory (whether or 

14 not at a designated port of entry) pending a 

15 proceeding under section 240 or review of a de16 termination under subsection (b)(1)(B)(iii)(III). 

17 ‘‘(B) MANDATORY RETURN.—If at any 

18 time the Secretary of Homeland Security can19 not— 

20 ‘‘(i) comply with its obligations to de21 tain an alien as required under clauses (ii) 

22 and (iii)(IV) of subsection (b)(1)(B) and 

23 subsection (b)(2)(A); or 

24 ‘‘(ii) remove an alien to a country de25 scribed in section 208(a)(2)(A), 


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1 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, with2 out exception, including pursuant to parole or 

3 release pursuant to section 236(a) but exclud4 ing as expressly authorized pursuant to section 

5 212(d)(5), return to a foreign territory contig6 uous to the United States any alien arriving on 

7 land from that territory (whether or not at a 

8 designated port of entry) pending a proceeding 

9 under section 240 or review of a determination 

10 under subsection (b)(1)(B)(iii)(III). 

11 ‘‘(4) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS

12 GENERAL.—The attorney general of a State, or 

13 other authorized State officer, alleging a violation of 

14 the detention, return, or removal requirements under 

15 paragraph (1), (2), or (3) that affects such State or 

16 its residents, may bring an action against the Sec17 retary of Homeland Security on behalf of the resi18 dents of the State in an appropriate United States 

19 district court to obtain appropriate injunctive re20 lief.’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(e) AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT INTRODUCTION OF

23 CERTAIN ALIENS.—If the Secretary of Homeland Security 

24 determines, in his discretion, that the prohibition of the 

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1 graph (A) or (C) of section 212(a)(6) or under section 

2 212(a)(7) at an international land or maritime border of 

3 the United States is necessary to achieve operational con4 trol (as defined in section 2 of the Secure Fence Act of 

5 2006 (8 U.S.C. 1701 note)) of such border, the Secretary 

6 may prohibit, in whole or in part, the introduction of such 

7 aliens at such border for such period of time as the Sec8 retary determines is necessary for such purpose.’’. 

9 TITLE II—IMMIGRATION PAROLE 

10 REFORM 

11 SEC. 201. IMMIGRATION PAROLE REFORM. 

12 Section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality 

13 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(5)(A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) 

15 and (C) and section 214(f), the Secretary of Homeland 

16 Security, in the discretion of the Secretary, may tempo17 rarily parole into the United States any alien applying for 

18 admission to the United States who is not present in the 

19 United States, under such conditions as the Secretary may 

20 prescribe, on a case-by-case basis, and not according to 

21 eligibility criteria describing an entire class of potential 

22 parole recipients, for urgent humanitarian reasons or sig23 nificant public benefit. Parole granted under this subpara24 graph may not be regarded as an admission of the alien. 

25 When the purposes of such parole have been served in the 


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1 opinion of the Secretary, the alien shall immediately re2 turn or be returned to the custody from which the alien 

3 was paroled. After such return, the case of the alien shall 

4 be dealt with in the same manner as the case of any other 

5 applicant for admission to the United States. 

6 ‘‘(B) The Secretary of Homeland Security may grant 

7 parole to any alien who— 

8 ‘‘(i) is present in the United States without 

9 lawful immigration status; 

10 ‘‘(ii) is the beneficiary of an approved petition 

11 under section 203(a); 

12 ‘‘(iii) is not otherwise inadmissible or remov13 able; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) is the spouse or child of a member of the 

15 Armed Forces serving on active duty. 

16 ‘‘(C) The Secretary of Homeland Security may grant 

17 parole to any alien— 

18 ‘‘(i) who is a national of the Republic of Cuba 

19 and is living in the Republic of Cuba; 

20 ‘‘(ii) who is the beneficiary of an approved peti21 tion under section 203(a); 

22 ‘‘(iii) for whom an immigrant visa is not imme23 diately available; 

24 ‘‘(iv) who meets all eligibility requirements for 

25 an immigrant visa; 


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1 ‘‘(v) who is not otherwise inadmissible; and 

2 ‘‘(vi) who is receiving a grant of parole in fur3 therance of the commitment of the United States to 

4 the minimum level of annual legal migration of 

5 Cuban nationals to the United States specified in 

6 the U.S.-Cuba Joint Communique ́ on Migration, 

7 done at New York September 9, 1994, and re8 affirmed in the Cuba-United States: Joint Statement 

9 on Normalization of Migration, Building on the 

10 Agreement of September 9, 1994, done at New York 

11 May 2, 1995. 

12 ‘‘(D) The Secretary of Homeland Security may grant 

13 parole to an alien who is returned to a contiguous country 

14 under section 235(b)(3) to allow the alien to attend the 

15 alien’s immigration hearing. The grant of parole shall not 

16 exceed the time required for the alien to be escorted to, 

17 and attend, the alien’s immigration hearing scheduled on 

18 the same calendar day as the grant, and to immediately 

19 thereafter be escorted back to the contiguous country. A 

20 grant of parole under this subparagraph shall not be con21 sidered for purposes of determining whether the alien is 

22 inadmissible under this Act. 

23 ‘‘(E) For purposes of determining an alien’s eligi24 bility for parole under subparagraph (A), an urgent huVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:47 Nov 28, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6477.IH H6477

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1 manitarian reason shall be limited to circumstances in 

2 which the alien establishes that— 

3 ‘‘(i)(I) the alien has a medical emergency; and 

4 ‘‘(II)(aa) the alien cannot obtain necessary 

5 treatment in the foreign state in which the alien is 

6 residing; or 

7 ‘‘(bb) the medical emergency is life-threatening 

8 and there is insufficient time for the alien to be ad9 mitted to the United States through the normal visa 

10 process; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the alien is the parent or legal guardian of 

12 an alien described in clause (i) and the alien de13 scribed in clause (i) is a minor; 

14 ‘‘(iii) the alien is needed in the United States 

15 in order to donate an organ or other tissue for 

16 transplant and there is insufficient time for the alien 

17 to be admitted to the United States through the nor18 mal visa process; 

19 ‘‘(iv) the alien has a close family member in the 

20 United States whose death is imminent and the alien 

21 could not arrive in the United States in time to see 

22 such family member alive if the alien were to be ad23 mitted to the United States through the normal visa 

24 process; 


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1 ‘‘(v) the alien is seeking to attend the funeral 

2 of a close family member and the alien could not ar3 rive in the United States in time to attend such fu4 neral if the alien were to be admitted to the United 

5 States through the normal visa process; 

6 ‘‘(vi) the alien is an adopted child with an ur7 gent medical condition who is in the legal custody of 

8 the petitioner for a final adoption-related visa and 

9 whose medical treatment is required before the ex10 pected award of a final adoption-related visa; or 

11 ‘‘(vii) the alien is a lawful applicant for adjust12 ment of status under section 245 and is returning 

13 to the United States after temporary travel abroad. 

14 ‘‘(F) For purposes of determining an alien’s eligi15 bility for parole under subparagraph (A), a significant 

16 public benefit may be determined to result from the parole 

17 of an alien only if— 

18 ‘‘(i) the alien has assisted (or will assist, wheth19 er knowingly or not) the United States Government 

20 in a law enforcement matter; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the alien’s presence is required by the Gov22 ernment in furtherance of such law enforcement 

23 matter; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) the alien is inadmissible, does not satisfy 

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1 immigrant, or there is insufficient time for the alien 

2 to be admitted to the United States through the nor3 mal visa process. 

4 ‘‘(G) For purposes of determining an alien’s eligi5 bility for parole under subparagraph (A), the term ‘case6 by-case basis’ means that the facts in each individual case 

7 are considered and parole is not granted based on mem8 bership in a defined class of aliens to be granted parole. 

9 The fact that aliens are considered for or granted parole 

10 one-by-one and not as a group is not sufficient to establish 

11 that the parole decision is made on a ‘case-by-case basis’. 

12 ‘‘(H) The Secretary of Homeland Security may not 

13 use the parole authority under this paragraph to parole 

14 an alien into the United States for any reason or purpose 

15 other than those described in subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), 

16 (E), and (F). 

17 ‘‘(I) An alien granted parole may not accept employ18 ment, except that an alien granted parole pursuant to sub19 paragraph (B) or (C) is authorized to accept employment 

20 for the duration of the parole, as evidenced by an employ21 ment authorization document issued by the Secretary of 

22 Homeland Security. 

23 ‘‘(J) Parole granted after a departure from the 

24 United States shall not be regarded as an admission of 

25 the alien. An alien granted parole, whether as an initial 


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1 grant of parole or parole upon reentry into the United 

2 States, is not eligible to adjust status to lawful permanent 

3 residence or for any other immigration benefit if the immi4 gration status the alien had at the time of departure did 

5 not authorize the alien to adjust status or to be eligible 

6 for such benefit. 

7 ‘‘(K)(i) Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii), 

8 parole shall be granted to an alien under this paragraph 

9 for the shorter of— 

10 ‘‘(I) a period of sufficient length to accomplish 

11 the activity described in subparagraph (D), (E), or 

12 (F) for which the alien was granted parole; or 

13 ‘‘(II) 1 year. 

14 ‘‘(ii) Grants of parole pursuant to subparagraph (A) 

15 may be extended once, in the discretion of the Secretary, 

16 for an additional period that is the shorter of— 

17 ‘‘(I) the period that is necessary to accomplish 

18 the activity described in subparagraph (E) or (F) for 

19 which the alien was granted parole; or 

20 ‘‘(II) 1 year. 

21 ‘‘(iii) Aliens who have a pending application to adjust 

22 status to permanent residence under section 245 may re23 quest extensions of parole under this paragraph, in 1-year 

24 increments, until the application for adjustment has been 


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1 adjudicated. Such parole shall terminate immediately upon 

2 the denial of such adjustment application. 

3 ‘‘(L) Not later than 90 days after the last day of each 

4 fiscal year, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall sub5 mit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

6 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep7 resentatives and make available to the public, a report— 

8 ‘‘(i) identifying the total number of aliens pa9 roled into the United States under this paragraph 

10 during the previous fiscal year; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) containing information and data regarding 

12 all aliens paroled during such fiscal year, includ13 ing— 

14 ‘‘(I) the duration of parole; 

15 ‘‘(II) the type of parole; and 

16 ‘‘(III) the current status of the aliens so 

17 paroled.’’. 

18 SEC. 202. IMPLEMENTATION. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

20 (b), this title and the amendments made by this title shall 

21 take effect on the date that is 30 days after the date of 

22 the enactment of this Act. 

23 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 

24 each of the following exceptions apply: 


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1 (1) Any application for parole or advance parole 

2 filed by an alien before the date of the enactment of 

3 this Act shall be adjudicated under the law that was 

4 in effect on the date on which the application was 

5 properly filed and any approved advance parole shall 

6 remain valid under the law that was in effect on the 

7 date on which the advance parole was approved. 

8 (2) Section 212(d)(5)(J) of the Immigration 

9 and Nationality Act, as added by section 201 of this 

10 Act, shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act. 

12 (3) Aliens who were paroled into the United 

13 States pursuant to section 212(d)(5)(A) of the Im14 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

15 1182(d)(5)(A)) before January 1, 2023, shall con16 tinue to be subject to the terms of parole that were 

17 in effect on the date on which their respective parole 

18 was approved. 

19 SEC. 203. CAUSE OF ACTION. 

20 Any person, State, or local government that experi21 ences financial harm in excess of $1,000 due to a failure 

22 of the Federal Government to lawfully apply the provisions 

23 of this title or the amendments made by this title shall 

24 have standing to bring a civil action against the Federal 


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1 Government in an appropriate district court of the United 

2 States for appropriate relief. 

3 SEC. 204. SEVERABILITY. 

4 If any provision of this title or any amendment by 

5 this title, or the application of such provision or amend6 ment to any person or circumstance, is held to be uncon7 stitutional, the remainder of this title and the application 

8 of such provision or amendment to any other person or 

9 circumstance shall not be affected. 

Æ 


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