Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/21pdf/21-954_7l48.pdf
Page Number: 43.0

10 

BIDEN v. TEXAS 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

of MPP has contributed to the current border surge” by giv-
ing aliens the “perverse incentiv[e],” id., at 837, App. 196,
to cross the border illegally in hopes of being paroled and 
released.  Id.,  at  79.  Thus,  the  Government  is  failing  to 
meet the statutory detention mandate, not only because of 
limitations on its detention capacity but also because it re-
fuses to use the contiguous-territory return authority.

Other than the argument that “shall” means “may,” the 
Government’s only other textual argument is that it is pa-
roling aliens “on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitar-
ian reasons or significant public benefit,” as permitted un-
der §1182(d)(5)(A).  But the number of aliens paroled each 
month under that provision—more than 27,000 in April of
this year5—gives rise to a strong inference that the Govern-
ment is not really making these decisions on a case-by-case
basis.  The  Government  argues  that  respondents  had  the
burden to show that it is not making case-by-case determi-
nations and that they have not met that burden, see Brief 
for Petitioners 34, but information about the true nature of 
these proceedings is in the Government’s possession, and it 
has revealed little about what actually takes place.  At ar-
gument,  however,  the  Solicitor  General  argued  that  the
case-by-case determination requirement can be met simply 
by going through a brief checklist for each alien.  See Tr. of 
Oral  Arg.  58–60.    Even  the  rudimentary  step  of  verifying
that  an  alien  does  not  have  a  criminal  record  is  not  per-
formed in every case.  Id., at 31.  Such procedures are in-

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5 See, e.g., Defendants’ Monthly Report for April 2022 in No. 2:21–cv–
67, ECF Doc. 139, p. 4 (ND Tex., May 16, 2022) (“For the month of April 
2022,  DHS  reported  that  the  total  number  of  applicants  for  admission 
under Section 1225 paroled into the United States was 91,250.  This fig-
ure combines  88,452  [Customs  and  Border  Patrol]  grants  of  parole  . . . 
and 27,654 individuals ‘. . . Paroled into the U. S. on a case-by-case basis
pursuant to 8 U. S. C. §1182(d)(5)’ ”); see also Defendants’ Monthly Re-
port for March 2022, ECF Doc. 136, p. 3.