Legal immigration expanded during US President Joe Biden's administration

A report with an account of the total number of immigrants that arrived in the US during US President Joe Biden’s administration suggests that he used a Cold War-era law to allow more than 500,000 immigrants to remain in the country.

According to internal government documents obtained by CBS News, the Biden administration's immigration strategy has resulted in the largest legal immigration wave in contemporary history.

Federal officials are making use of a long-standing provision in federal law that provides them with the power to grant migrants parole, allowing them to enter the nation lawfully and without a visa.

Based on court records and open data, 541,000 immigrants from all over the world now have legal status.

According to the 1952 statute, accepting immigrants without visas is acceptable if there is an "urgent humanitarian" need or "significant public benefit." However, this legal standing is only valid for two years, after which the immigrants will need to apply for a visa or have their status renewed, FOX News reported.

The administration justified its decision to grant legal immigration status to 168,400 Latin American and Caribbean migrants, 141,200 Ukrainian refugees, 133,000 asylum-seekers at the southern border, 77,000 Afghan evacuees, and 22,000 Ukrainians, citing global crises like mass migration, Taliban rule, and Russia's invasion.

According to the report, last year, when more than 200,000 border interactions were recorded for ten consecutive months, the border crisis under Biden reached its height and, in response, the administration looked into ways to permit legal immigration without a border appointment.

The Uniting for Ukraine programme allowed Ukraine refugees to fly to the US with a sponsor, expanding to Venezuelans fleeing poverty and authority rule. 

A sponsored programme was launched for Venezuelans fleeing from Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua. A mobile app called CBP One allowed migrants to set up appointments at legal ports of entry.

These programs are expected to continue the historic increase in legal immigration, with the Ukraine program having no cap, the CBP One app allowing over 500,000 migrants annually, and the program for select Latin American countries having an annual cap of 360,000 migrants.

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official emphasised that the department uses parole under stringent guidelines to protect national security while providing aid to migrants.

"Parole is only granted on a case-by-case basis to individuals who pass strict security vetting and meet certain criteria," a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

"Those who do not have a lawful basis to remain in this country are being expeditiously removed, barred from reentry for five years, and potentially subject to criminal prosecution.

More individuals have been removed or expelled than paroled in the last two years, and the conflation of very different parole processes that serve very different purposes is misleading and wrong."

Republican states sued the Biden administration's Latin American immigration parole program, claiming it oversteps Congress' authority.

"The Department of Homeland Security, under the false pretence of preventing aliens from unlawfully crossing the border between the ports of entry, has effectively created a new visa program without the formalities of legislation from Congress," the states wrote.

"The Department’s parole power is exceptionally limited, having been curtailed by Congress multiple times, and can be used ‘only on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.’"