Trump DHS takes significant action against immigrants allowed in through Biden’s controversial parole plans
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to review the parole status of immigrants brought in under the dramatic expansion of parole by the Biden administration, opening the door to their immediate removal from the country.
In an internal memo signed Thursday, and obtained by Fox News Digital, DHS Secretary Benjamin Huffman noted the steps he took this week to remove restrictions on expedited removal, allowing for the immediate removal of newly arrived immigrants if they do not seek asylum or fail to meet the first standard. The power can now be used anywhere in the US for immigrants who have been in the US for less than two years.
The new memo says that with those expanded powers, any immigrant who DHS knew could be immediately removed, but who was not, should have their case reviewed and “consider, in the exercise of your discretion, whether to use expedited removal.” The memo was first reported by the New York Times.
TRUMP DHS FILES ICE AGENTS RESTRICTIONS MEMO, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW
President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump look on as they meet with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Donald Trump’s second term inauguration in Washington, DC, on Jan. 20, 2025. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
“This may include steps to terminate any pending removal proceedings and/or any active parole status,” it said.
It also says that for any immigrant granted parole under the policy that has been temporarily suspended, modified or terminated by the Trump administration, officials can determine whether they should be included in removal proceedings and “review the alien’s parole status to determine, in your exercise of the law. discretion, whether parole remains relevant because of any changed legal or factual situation.”
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The memo also notes that parole is “a positive exercise of discretion to which no alien is entitled and that parole ‘shall not be construed as an admission of the alien.’
This would mean that immigrants granted amnesty at ports of entry after making an appointment through the CBP One application, or granted permission to travel for release under the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan (CHNV) parole process, are eligible for removal. The administration also introduced parole programs for people from Ukraine and Afghanistan.
About 1.5 million immigrants were allowed to enter under CBP One and CHNV, and both amnesty channels were closed by President Donald Trump on his first day in office. The Biden administration says the expanded “legal pathways” are part of an effort to reduce illegal crossings, but Republicans accuse the administration of abusing amnesty powers and allowing immigrants who shouldn’t enter legally.
On Jan. 23, 2025, ICE San Francisco arrested Ariel Rene Romice-Patino, a Mexican citizen who was illegally present in the United States. (ICE)
Huffman’s memo follows a memo earlier this week in which he ordered a parole review. The memo notes that the law calls for the authority to be used on a “case-by-case basis,” something Republican critics say the administration has abused. It emphasizes that parole is “a limited exercise of power, applicable only in very narrow circumstances.”
It also says it has been “repeatedly abused by the Executive Branch over the past several decades in ways that are clearly inconsistent with the law.”
“Most importantly, the parole law does not authorize categorical parole programs that arbitrarily qualify immigrants on the basis of a broadly applicable set of criteria,” she said.
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The memo directs the heads (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection to coordinate a range of orders, policies and procedures related to parole, review and implement a plan to eliminate any violations of the law.
The latest memo comes amid a slew of administration measures affecting illegal immigration and immigration, including measures to send troops to the border, end refugee resettlement, build a border wall and begin a massive deportation operation.
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ICE on Thursday arrested more than 530 illegal immigrants in another day of raids across the US.
