Immigration Parole Reform Act of 2022
Bill: S.5301 | Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck (R-IA)
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Immigration Parole Reform Act of 2022
This bill limits the authority of the Department of Homeland Security to grant immigration parole (i.e., give official permission for an individual to enter and temporarily remain in the United States).
For example, this bill (1) limits what qualifies as an urgent humanitarian reason or a significant public benefit that would justify granting parole, and (2) prohibits granting parole based on an individual's membership in a defined class of individuals.

To amend section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to 
           reform immigration parole, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Immigration Parole Reform Act of 
2022''.

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 subparagraph (B) or 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) For purposes of determining an alien's eligibility for parole 
under subparagraph (A), an urgent humanitarian reason shall be limited 
to circumstances in which--
            ``(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 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.
    ``(D) 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.
    ``(E) 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'.
    ``(F) The Secretary of Homeland Security may not use the parole 
authority under this paragraph--
            ``(i) to allow an alien who is the beneficiary of a pending 
        or approved immigrant petition to enter the United States 
        (except as otherwise authorized under this paragraph) before an 
        immigrant visa is issued to such alien;
            ``(ii) to parole into the United States aliens entering for 
        the purpose of performing skilled or unskilled labor;
            ``(iii) to parole into the United States aliens seeking to 
        undertake activities described in existing nonimmigrant 
        classifications, including by paroling aliens seeking to 
        undertake activities authorized under section 101(a)(15)(B) and 
        who are nationals of a country that has not been designated as 
        a program country under section 212(l) or 217;
            ``(iv) to parole into the United States an alien who is a 
        refugee or who is described in a designated class of aliens 
        granted access to the United States Refugee Admissions Program, 
        unless such alien may otherwise be paroled under this 
        paragraph; or
            ``(v) to parole an alien into the United States for any 
        reason or purpose other than those described in subparagraphs 
        (C) and (D).
    ``(G) 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.
    ``(H)(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 (C) or (D) 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 (C) or (D) 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.
    ``(I) 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 Act and 
the amendments made by this Act 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)(G) 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) the provisions of this Act, and the amendments made by 
        this Act, affecting 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 the date of the 
        enactment of this Act shall take effect on the date that is 180 
        days after such date of enactment.

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 Act or the amendments made by 
this Act 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 Act or any amendment by this Act, or the 
application of such provision or amendment to any person or 
circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act 
and the application of such provision or amendment to any other person 
or circumstance shall not be affected.
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