New Regulation Permits Three Agencies to Grant Parole
Posted Jun 20, 2003

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule on June 12, 2003, officially granting relevant officials of three bureaus / agencies within the DHS the power to grant parole whenever there is a humanitarian purpose for doing so or if the parole will result in a significant public benefit. The three agencies with authority to grant paroles are: the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), the Bureau of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This regulation does not change the criteria used to determine who may or may not receive such parole.

Though parole is a benefit, and would normally therefore be granted by the BCIS, the BCIS is no longer at the Ports of Entry. These are now the responsibility of the CBP. Neither is BCIS at immigration-related detention centers, which are generally controlled by ICE. This new regulation recognizes that CBP and ICE should be permitted authority to grant parole, rather than have to detain a person while awaiting a decision from BCIS.

Under these new regulations, the officials who may grant humanitarian or significant public interest parole include the following: the Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations; the Director of Detention and Removal; directors of field operations; port directors; special agents in charge; deputy special agents in charge; associate special agents in charge; assistant special agents in charge; resident agents in charge; field office directors; deputy field office directors; chief patrol agents; district directors for services; and those other officials as may be designated in writing, subject to the parole and detention authority of the DHS Secretary or his designees. Juveniles may be granted such parole by The Director, Detention and Removal; directors of field operations; field office directors; deputy field office directors; or chief patrol agents.

We expect the DHS will implement many other regulations over the coming months. Last month, DHS released its semiannual regulatory agenda, revealing many plans to propose and/or finalize regulations within the next six months. We at The Law Office of Sheela Murthy are pleased that the DHS has chosen to address this important measure first, so that those who need, and should be granted, humanitarian and significant public interest paroles will be able to obtain these without any confusion as to which agency or which officials may grant such paroles.