Critical findings from recent CIS Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation reveal that a Biden “humanitarian” parole program created specifically for nationals of four countries has resulted in many applicants flying in from 74 other countries. This episode of Parsing Immigration Policy draws attention to the discrepancies between the public justification for the Cuban Haitian Nicaraguan Venezuelan (CHNV) Direct Flight Program and the reality of its implementation. Mark Krikorian, the Center’s executive director, and Todd Bensman, the Center’s national security fellow, also highlight the urgent need to reform U.S. asylum laws.

Massive Influx: Since January 2023, more than 460,000 from those four nationalities have been authorized to fly into the country, with 30,000 being allowed in each month – all eligible for two-year renewable work authorization.Litigation and

Today’s episode of Parsing Immigration Policy delves into the details and implications of this week’s controversial announcement by the Biden administration that it will be granting de facto amnesty to over half a million illegal immigrants in the United States. The conversation between Mark Krikorian, the Center’s executive director, and Andrew Arthur, the Center’s fellow in law and policy, also highlights the administration’s reliance on executive orders in lieu of legislative compromise.

Announcement: On June 18, 2024, the Biden administration announced that 500,000 illegal immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens, who have been in the country for at least ten years and married before June 17, 2024, will be allowed to apply for “parole in place” (PIP). These benefits will also be extended to an estimated 50,000 children of these spouses, who do not need to meet the ten-year residency requirement. The PIP plan retroactively legalizes illegal entries and allows beneficiaries to apply for work authorization and attain a Social Security number.

Two former chiefs of the U.S. Border Patrol join Parsing Immigration Policy this week on the occasion of the agency’s 100th anniversary. Rodney Scott and Mark Morgan join host Mark Krikorian discuss how, despite a century of government policies that have often made it harder to secure the border, the Border Patrol has always remained committed to protecting America’s national security. Morgan emphasizes that “bad politics, the lack of political courage, strength, and will decade after decade has made the Border Patrol’s job more difficult…but yet somehow they still are able to succeed.”

The Biden administration has leveraged Americans’ compassion for migrants to promote policies that hinder the Border Patrol’s ability to do its job. One such policy is the elimination of rapid DNA testing, which helps agents in identifying human traffickers. The mass influx of illegal immigrants that started in 2021 has overwhelmed the Border Patrol, preventing them from engaging in preventive measures like rigorously interviewing suspicious migrants. This situation has led to the departure of many experienced agents and has hindered the training of new agents to address potential national security threats at the border. Morgan and Scott emphasize that illegal immigration is not a victimless crime, underscoring that Border Patrol agents are not motivated by racism or any other nefarious motives; rather, they are safeguarding American national security and the integrity of the legal immigration system.

In this week’s episode of Parsing Immigration Policy, Christopher Landau, former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, joins us to discuss the election of Claudia Sheinbaum as the new president of Mexico. Amb. Landau discusses the implications of Sheinbaum’s election for U.S. immigration policy and U.S.-Mexico relations.

Landau describes Sheinbaum as the protege of the current president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (commonly known as AMLO), and anticipates that she will continue seeking cooperation with Washington. Given that most migrants attempting entry into the U.S. now originate from countries other than Mexico, there exists a mutual incentive for such cooperation. Mexico does not want millions of foreign nationals to use their country as a “doormat” to the U.S.

The “bipartisan” border bill failed again last week in the Senate, with even its Republican co-sponsor voting against it. While it may now seem moot, it’s likely that the president and Democrats in Congress will spend the rest of the year pointing to Republican opposition to the bill as the reason for the continuing border crisis.

For that reason, it’s worth examining again the provisions of the proposed legislation. Andrew Arthur, Resident Fellow in Law and Policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, joins this week’s episode of Parsing Immigration Policy to do just that.

In this week’s episode of Parsing Immigration Policy, Roy Beck, founder of NumbersUSA, joins us to discuss the 100th anniversary of the 1924 Immigration Act. President Calvin Coolidge signed it into law on May 26, 1924, and Beck outlines how, despite the various and often invidious motivations of the Act’s supporters, its effect was overwhelmingly positive for Americans of all races.

Beck discusses how the 1924 Immigration Act built upon a similar bill from 1921, capping the number of immigrants that could enter each year and establishing a quota system based on national origins. He underscores how the bill was overwhelmingly supported by various sectors of society, including labor unions and Black leaders. Beck also notes that the bill’s sponsor emphasized that the main effect of the legislation was on restricting the numbers of immigrants who could enter rather than on the types of immigrants – how many, rather than who.

In the latest episode of Parsing Immigration Policy, we delve into the security vulnerabilities concerning the historic and increasing number of Chinese nationals who are part of the record number of migrants crossing our country’s SW border. Our guest is Todd Bensman, the Center’s senior national security fellow who testifies today at a House Homeland Subcommittee hearing, “Security Risk: The Unprecedented Surge in Chinese Illegal Immigration.”

Recent data reveals a spike in Chinese illegal immigration. In the past 35 months, more than 50,000 Chinese nationals have been apprehended by border patrol, with an additional 17-20,000 entering through the ports of entry using the CBP One app. This is up from 991 encounters in 2018, 2,060 in 2019, and 323 in 2020.

With the crisis in Haiti sparking fears of a new exodus and illegal crossings up in the Mediterranean, maritime illegal immigration is a challenge all destination countries are facing – one that is very different from the challenge of controlling a land border.

The International Network for Immigration Research (INIR) hosted this event to address this issue, entitled “Illegal Immigration by Sea: Challenges in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean”.

This week’s episode of Parsing Immigration Policy features Steve Robinson, editor-in-chief of the Maine Wire, a digital investigative news outlet, who joins our guest host, Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies. The two experts discuss how Chinese criminal organizations have established illegal weed grows using trafficked labor of illegal aliens, and the effect on Maine communities.

Robinson has been investigating this problem for months, since the existence of hundreds of rural Maine properties was revealed in a leaked federal law enforcement memo. Robinson reveals what he has learned about the Chinese drug crime operations in Maine — how they have taken advantage of Maine’s rural sanctuary environment and how they skirt all manner of laws, ordinances, taxes, and regulations, and even steal electricity, to make a profit.

In today’s episode of Parsing Immigration Policy, Elizabeth Jacobs, the Center’s Director of Regulatory Affairs and Policy, does a deep dive into her recent analysis of the new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fee schedule, set to take effect on April 1, 2024.

Jacobs discusses how the 2024 fee rule is being leveraged to advance Biden’s policy objectives, ignoring the requirement that USCIS fees should be commensurate with the costs of processing specific applications.