On June 18, 2024, President Biden announced a new program entitled “Process To Promote The Unity And Stability of Families”, for immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens.
The proposal relies on a concept known as Parole-In-Place.
This form of parole enables immigrants, already in the U.S. – who have not been admitted – to remain in the United States. Generally, parole-in-place has been reserved for specific family members of a current or past member of the U.S. military.
With the announcement, the Biden Administration is expanding the use of Parole-In-Place to immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens. Those who are approved will receive a three-year work permit, deferral from deportation, and allowed to apply for permanent residency in the U.S.
The official requirements have not been published. Nonetheless, past parole measures, coupled with the few rules released, allow preliminary insight into how the new program might work.
For several years, fixing our immigration system has been a hot political topic.
Building a border wall has been at the forefront of most Congressional proposals. Several representatives tout it as the primary cure for an overflow of immigrants trying to enter our country without legal documents.
This approach is short-sighted.
It negects the main component necessary for constructive immigration reform.
A friend in need is a friend indeed. But it’s what happens after the need subsides that the real quality of friendship is determined.
Take the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole Program (FWVP) implemented by the Obama Administration on June 8, 2016.
The new program, noted UCSIS Director Leon Rodriguez, “honors the thousands of Filipinos who bravely enlisted to fight for the United States during World War II.”
The commentary both overstated and understated the reality.
I, along with a few friends, sponsor an annual day-long neighborly celebration. A community-wide barbeque. (I’m the master chef. It’s my Bobby Flay imitation.)
When one is caught up in the details of day-to-day skirmishes, it is not uncommon to lose sight of the greater battle being waged.
Following the president’s announcement last fall that he had set the stage for immigrants to come out from the shadows, supporters bathed in the warm glow of political delusion. Now many advocates seem astonished by the recent news that his executive orders are likely to be derailed by a federal court ruling.
