Opinion ID: 791779
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Parole and Removal Proceedings

Text: 71 To deal with the second Chevron prong, we must examine the statute in more depth. We begin with the fact that section 245(a) allows the Attorney General to grant adjustment to any alien who was inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States. 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a). Importantly, the statute grants eligibility to adjust status not only to those aliens who have been lawfully admitted into the United States, but also to those who have merely been paroled. 72 The Attorney General may, except as provided in subparagraph (B) or in section 1184(f) of this title, in his discretion parole into the United States temporarily under such conditions as he may prescribe only on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit any alien applying for admission to the United States, but such parole of such alien shall not be regarded as an admission of the alien and when the purposes of such parole shall, in the opinion of the Attorney General, have been served the alien shall forthwith return or be returned to the custody from which he was paroled and thereafter his case shall continue to be dealt with in the same manner as that of any other applicant for admission to the United States. 73 8 U.S.C. § 1182(d)(5)(A). Regulations prescribe in more detail who may be paroled; it appears that the broadest class of parolees comprises those whose continued detention is not in the public interest. 8 C.F.R. § 212.5(b)(5). 74 Paroled aliens are not admitted to the United States. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(13)(B). Instead, they are treated by the statute as applicants for admission. Id. § 1225(a)(1) (An alien present in the United States who has not been admitted... shall be deemed for the purposes of this chapter an applicant for admission.). The statute provides that an applicant for admission shall be detained for a [removal] proceeding if an immigration officer determines that he or she is not clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted. Id. § 1225(b)(2)(A). Parole is a form of relief from immigration detention; it is not a form of relief from removal proceedings, and when the purposes of parole have been served the parolee must be returned to custody and removal proceedings must continue. Id. § 1182(d)(5)(A). Thus, the statutory structure seems to indicate that virtually all parolees will be in removal proceedings. 75 Parole is authorized by section 212 of the INA: 76 The parties to this case have not provided us with any statistics to test our supposition that most parolees are in removal proceedings. However, the First Circuit noted in Succar that it was represented in the briefs before this court that the `majority of the intended beneficiaries of parolee adjustment of status are in removal proceedings,' and that the Attorney General did not dispute that statistic. 394 F.3d at 21. 77 More compelling than any statistic, however, is the statutory structure that indicates that parolees will, by default, be in removal proceedings: any alien not clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted will be placed in removal proceedings, 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2)(A), so any parolee—that is, any alien who has been inspected but not admitted—will necessarily be in removal proceedings. We thus do not rely exclusively upon the statistics provided to the Succar court; our conclusion is informed by the plain indication of congressional intent. It is clear from the statutory text that Congress intended for virtually all parolees to be in removal proceedings. 15 78 It is equally clear, of course, that Congress intended that parolees, as a general class, be eligible for adjustment of status: the statute provides explicitly that the Attorney General may grant adjustment to an alien who was inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States. 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a). The statute further provides that the Attorney General may grant the adjustment if the alien makes an application for such adjustment, id. § 1255(a)(1), which plainly contemplates that paroled aliens may make such an application (though of course the Attorney General need not grant it). Because the large majority of aliens paroled into the United States will be in removal proceedings, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Congress intended that the mere fact of removal proceedings would not render an alien ineligible to apply for adjustment of status. See also Succar, 394 F.3d at 25 (Congress chose not to disqualify from eligibility all of those aliens `inspected and admitted or paroled' in removal or other judicial proceedings.).