Immigration Parole Reform Act of 2023

Mr. President, let's start at the grassroots of Iowa.

The question that comes up frequently at my county meetings--and next week, I am going to hold a Q&A in 12 of Iowa's 99 counties, and I expect I will get this question that I am going to pose to you: Senator, what are you going to do about the open border, people illegally entering our country?

My answer is usually pretty short--that long before I came to the Congress, Congress passed laws saying you can't come to our country without our permission. In fact, I add that we are a very favorable country toward immigration because about 1 million people come here every year, and maybe we should have more who come here under our laws, within those laws, not breaking our laws by entering the country illegally.

I don't get much of a pushback from that because I explain to them that we pass laws, and then the President enforces those laws under our Constitution.

The President has decided not to enforce the immigration laws. It shouldn't surprise us that he has taken that position for 3\1/2\ years because he told us before the election that he was going to open the border.

But there are some things Congress can do about immigration. That is why I am here on the floor today to ask unanimous consent for a piece of legislation that I put in. Maybe if this legislation becomes law, the President still might decide not to enforce it, like every other law.

Since day one, the Biden administration has pursued an open border policy. The result has been utter chaos and a crisis at the southern border. This crisis has become an indelible hallmark of President Biden's America.

However, President Biden, as I have said, has the authority to secure the border. He is already empowered under current law to do that. He could do it today if he really wanted to. It is the same authority that President Trump used to secure our border just a few years ago.

The Constitution makes very clear that the President takes an oath that he shall take care to faithfully execute the laws. President Biden doesn't follow that constitutional oath to take care in regard to the immigration laws. Trump did take that oath very seriously.

Under the Biden administration, some 9 million migrants have been allowed to illegally enter our country. That is about three times the population of my home State of Iowa. The President has done that for 3\1/2\ years. Let me repeat that that 9 million figure is like the entire population of Iowa nearly three times over.

So instead of taking care that the laws be faithfully executed, enforcing these immigration laws already on the books, this administration chooses to ignore our border and abuse our Nation's immigration parole and asylum system. That is what my bill deals with, the parole system.

Immigration parole is supposed to allow the executive branch to temporarily grant individuals entry into the United States on a limited but case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. But instead of case by case, the Biden administration uses this program to admit entire categories of people as a means to bypass the legal immigration pathways outlined by Congress--in other words, not doing it on a case-by-case basis.

The actions of President Biden are completely out of line with what Congress intended to be the parole authority. So to address this loophole, I have introduced S. 505, the Immigration Parole Reform Act.

My bill will close this loophole and ensure compliance with Congress's original intent as a limited authority for exceptional circumstances. My bill outlines specific parameters for what constitutes an urgent humanitarian reason or significant public benefit. This bill would also provide clarity on the timing and extension of immigration parole, among other reforms.

So at this point, Mr. President, as in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of S. 505 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; further, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I would like to speak for 30 seconds before I yield.

Mr. President, I regret that there was objection because fixing the Biden border crisis begins with regaining operational control and security at the border. This responsibility ultimately falls to President Biden, as head of the executive branch, to enforce the border and immigration laws already on the books. In other words, I would ask President Biden to honor his oath, where he said, in upholding the Constitution, he would take care to faithfully execute the laws.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, this week has given the American people yet another clear window into the Republican mind when it comes to immigration: They are not serious about addressing immigration or about having secure or humanely managed borders.

Instead, Republicans only seem to believe in highlighting the challenges at our border instead of actually taking action to address them, and it is because they are prioritizing how it may impact the results at the ballot box this November. That is their goal: to stoke more and more fear of immigrants every month between now and election day.

So I have asked before, and I will ask again: My Republican colleagues, when are you ready to get serious about immigration reform?

All but ending the practice of parole and cutting off legal pathways to immigrants is not a serious approach to the immigration problem. They know it can't happen in practice, and maybe that is exactly why they are calling for it.

Let's be clear what this is and what this isn't. This is not updating the amnesty process, which is legal but in dire need of additional resources, so that we can provide due process for those who may be seeking amnesty and provide them determinations on their requests sooner rather than later.

This is not updating work visa programs, because I know that all of us are hearing from employers across industries that there is a need for additional workers to keep our economy thriving.

What we are talking about here with this measure is parole in place. Every President since Eisenhower has used the parole authority on a case-by-case basis to allow a safe and secure path for immigrants who are fleeing natural disasters or who need urgent, specialized medical care to come to the United States. That is what we are talking about. Both Republican and Democratic Presidents have used it because it is a humane way to help address global crises.

I will give you some more recent examples. We have been able to provide protections for families of our military members. We have been able to provide protections for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. We have been able to provide protections for people who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, and for Haitians, more recently, and Venezuelans and those of other nationalities seeking refuge from violence and instability in their home countries.

Taking it away will actually force more people to come to the southern border, instead of using other lawful pathways like parole to come in a more orderly way. Is that what Republicans really want-- because that is what would happen--to force more people to go to the border so they can continue to point fingers at a crisis of their own making?

The President's ability to grant parole on a case-by-case basis to people fleeing horrific and dangerous conditions is actually fundamental to America's continued leadership and our proud history of embracing strategic immigration as part of our success.

This bill represents a lack of respect for humanity and the laws of our Nation, and, therefore, I object.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.