The Biden administration has resumed a program that allows tens of thousands of foreigners to fly into the country each month, even after the discovery of significant irregularities within the program.
A shocking report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) released last month shockingly revealed just how corrupt the program is. Among other fraudulent activities, the report revealed that a single IP address in Tijuana, Mexico, was used to submit 1,328 applications, resulting in 100,948 Social Security applications filed by just 3,218 sponsors.
This brazen fraud would be comical if it weren't so dangerous: The Biden administration suspended the program for a few weeks after the report, but now claims to have fixed the problem.
The Biden campaign announced late last month that it would reopen the program after “incorporating additional screening of U.S.-resident supporters to strengthen the integrity of the process.” If anyone believes this, I'll sell them my beachfront property in Nebraska. There's no way the government could fix massive corruption in the program in a matter of weeks. This is a classic example of how the government wants to appear to be doing something without actually doing anything. In reality, the Biden administration's decision to reopen the parole program is a refutation of the recent narrative that the administration has found faith in border security and is working to reduce illegal immigration.
The administration has received favorable media coverage for an executive order issued earlier this year that would close the border if a certain number of illegal crossings were made. Although the official number of illegal crossings has fallen from the high levels of the past three years, the number of illegal immigrants entering the United States continues to rise. The administration has been focused on artificially reducing the number of border crossings to create the impression that it is finally taking the illegal immigration crisis seriously, and its allies in the media are happy to go along with it.
While the administration has strong political incentives to promote the image of illegal immigrants, it is also pushing ahead with anti-border policies with full force. Since announcing its “crackdown” on the border, the administration has attempted to implement a new presidential amnesty for illegal immigrants, threatened to veto legislation that would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections, and proposed a rule that would allow illegal immigrants to access programs meant to help low-income Americans pay for their college education. And now, after a brief hiatus, the White House is again abusing its parole powers, allowing 30,000 foreigners to enter the U.S. each month through a fraudulent program.
Though the federal government claims to have found ways to curb fraud within the program, its track record shows why Americans should not trust the federal government. By allowing over 10 million aliens into the country illegally in just under four years, the administration has already proven it doesn't care about protecting our borders or its people. But beyond the fraud, there's another pressing question: What exactly is the purpose of this program?
Neither the Biden administration nor its supporters have ever clearly articulated the rationale behind the program or explained how flying in 30,000 foreigners a month would benefit the American people. Why fly in so many more foreigners when the U.S. legalizes over one million immigrants each year and the current administration allows millions more to enter illegally?
The answer is that Biden, or more accurately, the activists and corporate interests he serves, simply believe there should be no limits on the number of foreign nationals eligible to enter our country. This is seen not only at the federal level, but also at the state level. In Oregon, the state currently offers $30,000 grants to immigrants buying their first home. And in California, a bill was recently passed that offers $150,000 loans to undocumented immigrants who want to buy a home.
While the rhetoric may shift with the political winds, a consistent undertone of the immigration policies pursued by this administration and its allies at the state level is that the well-being of foreigners is more important to them than the well-being of U.S. citizens and legal residents. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed this attitude well recently when she defended California's bill, saying its purpose is to turn “illegals” into “legal residents.” This is the primary reason why the administration continues to abuse its power to fly countless foreigners into the country with no regard for the integrity of the program.
They see the people they are importing into the country as future citizens and political patrons, and are determined to continue the flow of mass immigration despite the national interest, which is the only reason they are reinstating a program that is full of outrageous fraud and provides little benefit to the American people.
Dale L. Wilcox is executive director and general counsel of the Immigration Reform Law Institute, a public interest law firm that works to protect the rights and interests of Americans from the harmful effects of mass immigration.
