Congress caps humanitarian parole at 3,000 per year, empowers states to sue.

What it does

This bill amends immigration law to restrict the Secretary of Homeland Security's parole authority by requiring case-by-case decisions only for urgent humanitarian need or significant public benefit, barring parole of nationals from countries of concern without State Department waiver, capping annual parole grants at 3,000 starting in fiscal 2029, and giving state attorneys general standing to sue the federal government if they claim the parole cap or case-by-case requirement is violated and their state suffers financial harm exceeding $100.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a statutory cap on annual parole grants (3,000 per fiscal year starting 2029) and a requirement that all parole decisions be case-by-case for urgent humanitarian or significant public benefit reasons, with an additional barrier for nationals of countries of concern. This is a direct restriction on executive discretion in immigration parole, not a procedural reform or transparency measure.

What the text implies

• The 3,000-per-year cap, effective FY2029, may create a backlog of humanitarian parole applications and force the executive to triage cases by severity rather than respond to urgent need as it arises.
• State attorneys general gain standing to sue the federal government over parole decisions if their state claims financial harm exceeding $100, potentially opening federal immigration policy to state-level litigation and injunctive relief that could freeze parole processing.
• The requirement for State Department waiver for nationals of countries of concern (defined in State Department Basic Authorities Act § 1(m)) ties parole authority to an external definition that may shift with diplomatic relations, creating uncertainty for applicants.
• The bill's findings cite Texas v. Biden (Fifth Circuit 2021) as authority for the case-by-case requirement, but the operative text does not explicitly codify that court's reasoning—it relies on the court's framing to justify the cap and standing provision.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill restricts access to humanitarian parole for foreign nationals and caps annual parole at 3,000 starting 2029, narrowing a discretionary pathway for urgent humanitarian cases. While the bill frames this as preventing abuse, it converts a case-by-case discretionary authority into a hard numerical cap and adds barriers (State Department waiver requirement for nationals of countries of concern), reducing the executive's ability to respond to individual humanitarian emergencies. Citizens seek

Named in the bill

Secretary of Homeland Security, Secretary of State, State attorneys general, Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Section 212(d)(5) INA, Section 214(f) INA, State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, Texas v. Biden (Fifth Circuit 2021)

Where it stands

27 cosponsors: 27 Republicans.

• Jun 4, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jun 4, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.