DHS Report Confirms Grassley Oversight: Biden Admin Failed to Track and Enforce Parole Expirations

DHS Report Confirms Grassley Oversight: Biden Admin Failed to Track and Enforce Parole Expirations

WASHINGTON - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is requesting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem immediately address the Biden administration's failure to track and enforce parole expirations. Grassley's inquiry follows a July 2025 DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) report, which confirmed that "under [Biden] DHS policies and practices, aliens could remain unlawfully in the United States after parole expiration without enforcement consequences." Over 61,400 parolee visas expired from November 2024 to February 2025.

"The OIG found that multiple Biden-DHS components - including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) - failed to uphold their respective responsibilities under federal law and executive policy for tracking and enforcing parole expirations," Grassley wrote.

According to the DHS OIG report, under the Biden administration:

• CBP failed to track parole expirations, despite having a congressional mandate to report data on overstays to Congress and the public;
• USCIS did not establish or maintain a centralized, reliable data system to monitor parole expiration, despite being required to do so; and
• ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations was not notified by CBP or USCIS when parolees entered the United States, and ICE did not automatically consider parolees as removable after their parole term expired.

Grassley is calling on the Trump administration to implement OIG's three recommendations, including (1) designating a DHS component or office to oversee parole expiration and report on the prevalence of the issue; (2) developing a process to identify parolees who are no longer authorized to remain in the United States; and (3) ensuring ICE receives timely, accurate data regarding parolees who are no longer authorized to remain in the United States.

Read Grassley's letter to DHS HERE.

Background:

In October 2023, Grassley wrote to then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas regarding the Biden administration's failure to track and vet individuals paroled into the United States through the CBP One mobile app. In June 2024, Grassley followed up with the Biden DHS, reiterating its responsibility to identify, vet and monitor Afghan evacuees paroled into the United States following the botched Afghanistan withdrawal. In August of 2024, Grassley raised concerns that CBP failed to notify its field offices of the administration's interview and fingerprint waivers, which prevented agents from flagging parolees who needed further screening. In October 2024, Grassley wrote to DHS after CBP and ICE permitted noncitizens to enter the country without confirming their identity - days later, an Afghan evacuee was arrested for plotting an Election Day terrorist attack on behalf of ISIS.

This Congress, Grassley is continuing to press the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for answers regarding the Biden administration's failure to fully vet Afghan evacuees. Grassley also introduced the Immigration Parole Reform Act to restore integrity to the immigration parole program and ensure parole expirations are enforced.

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