Trump Administration implements new $1,000 fee for migrants receiving parole

The Department of Homeland Security(DHS) on Thursday implemented a new $1,000 immigration fee for those migrants who receive temporary permission to stay (also known as parole) in the country. According to a statement from the DHS Office of Public Affairs, the purpose of the fee is to "institute accountability and prevent rampant fraud of the parole system," as well as to improve oversight of the immigration permit system and discourage its misuse.

In that statement, Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin explained, "The Biden Administration abused America’s immigration system and turned parole into a de facto amnesty program, thereby allowing millions of unvetted illegal aliens into the U.S., no questions asked, to the detriment of all Americans. Through the implementation of this new fee, President Donald Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem are guaranteeing that foreign nationals, who wish to stay here, have skin in the game and do not exploit the system. This immigration parole fee notice is another tool to stop the degradation of our immigration system and restore law and order to our country."

According to the release, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be the three bodies in charge of collecting the fees. The document also clarified that the fees will be officially triggered only and exclusively at the time the permit is approved, rather than at the time the application is submitted.