The Biden administration is planning one of the largest amnesty efforts in recent history, potentially granting legal status to over a million illegal aliens. This initiative raises significant legal, procedural, moral, and policy concerns that should worry every American.

The new executive order proposed by the Biden administration, known as “Parole in Place,” aims to remove legal barriers that prevent illegal aliens who entered the U.S. unlawfully from obtaining green cards without leaving the country. This order would not only grant immediate work permits and deportation protections but also create from thin air a pathway to permanent legal status and eventual U.S. citizenship. By removing the requirement for illegal aliens to leave the country to fix their status, the administration is fundamentally altering the legal landscape, potentially allowing millions to sidestep legal immigration processes. This is de facto amnesty and has always been the left’s endgame.

At the heart of the controversy is the misuse of the parole authority granted under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA stipulates that parole can only be granted “on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.” However, the proposed program aims to apply parole broadly to immigrants in a catch-all criteria, such as being married to a U.S. citizen and residing in the country for at least ten years. This broad application clearly deviates from the statutory requirement for individual assessments, proving this is a blatant violation of the INA.

The lack of individual assessments and oversight in this program is particularly troubling. Parole decisions must consider each applicant’s unique circumstances to ensure they meet the criteria for urgent humanitarian need or significant public benefit. By applying parole to a broad group, the administration is undermining the integrity of the process, increasing the abuse and manipulation that has become commonplace in the Biden administration.

Moreover, this directive represents a significant overreach of executive authority. The power to create a pathway to citizenship lies with Congress, not the executive branch. Previous attempts to unilaterally alter immigration policy through executive actions, such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, have faced numerous legal challenges. These purposefully built legal boondoggles place aliens in a legal gray area where they become a political tool of the left that is used to bludgeon any opposition to mass amnesty.

Expanding parole to a large group of illegal immigrants similarly oversteps the bounds of executive power, bypassing the legislative process that is fundamental to our system of government and the will of the American people, who overwhelmingly oppose mass amnesty. Biden is moving against the consensus to appease open borders radicals. 6 and 10 voters, including a third of Democrats, now support mass deportations.

Americans are quickly souring on immigration handouts such as the Biden executive order. A shocking 46% of Republicans and 30% of Democrats support ending birthright citizenship according to a recent survey. Undoubtedly, Biden has awakened the American people to the issue of illegal immigration.

Furthermore, this approach circumvents the federal legislative process, which is the only way to create and change immigration law in the United States. Congress has the constitutional responsibility to enact immigration laws, and bypassing this process sets a dangerous precedent. This attempt of extreme executive overreach undermines Congress and the will of the American people so President Biden can achieve goals of radicals on the left.

Amnesty, in any form, leads to increased illegal immigration. For example, border encounters spiked in the late 1980’s after the amnesty included in the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. When foreign nationals see that entering the U.S. illegally can eventually lead to legal status, it creates an incentive for others to follow the same path, hoping for similar relief in the future. By attempting amnesty unilaterally, Biden has fueled the next wave of illegal immigration.

Biden’s new “Parole in Place” program is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. They will cover it in a façade of compassion and attempt to use this population they have given legally ambiguous standing to bludgeon a potential Trump administration into not undoing the program.

If empowered, the next level-headed administration would take the actions necessary to secure the border, but we must think strategically. One day, the White House may be occupied by an even more committed leftist who will use the Biden Administration’s border chaos as a blueprint for their own destructive policies. That cannot be allowed to happen.

While the next administration can and must take corrective executive measures to solve this problem, the Senate can pass the Secure the Border Act now which would fix the loopholes in our immigration system, secure the border, and cut off the flow of migrants into the U.S. There would be no need for amnesty and America would be safer, freer, and more prosperous.