The U.S. Congress and the Biden Administration are currently negotiating an immigration reform bill that could limit the president’s ability to allow refugees to enter the U.S. under humanitarian parole. As a humanitarian organization, Ithaca Welcomes Refugees (IWR) strongly opposes any bill that would weaken humanitarian parole.

Established as part of the Immigration and Nationality Act, humanitarian parole allows certain individuals to temporarily stay in the U.S. for “urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.” Over the decades, the program has been used by both Democratic and Republican administrations. The Biden administration has used humanitarian parole to admit refugees from Afghanistan, Ukraine, and other countries experiencing conflict or humanitarian disaster.

Since 2021, the majority of refugees welcomed to Ithaca by IWR have come under humanitarian parole, including 38 people from Ukraine, 13 from Afghanistan, 5 from Burma, 5 from Nicaragua, 3 from Haiti, and 1 from Cuba.

In recent weeks, humanitarian parole has been a subject of debate as the White House and U.S. senators negotiate a potential immigration bill. According to news reports, the proposals discussed include “putting numerical caps on parole grants and barring migrants paroled into the country from asylum to try to ensure they leave the U.S. once their parole period expires.”

Restricting the number of people receiving humanitarian parole and barring parolees from seeking asylum would leave many people seeking refuge from conflict or disaster without the option of finding safety and community in the U.S. As a temporary measure, humanitarian parole is not perfect, but it is necessary.

As an organization dedicated to partnering with newly arrived refugees and immigrants as they rebuild their lives in Tompkins County, IWR supports humanitarian parole and opposes measures to restrict it. We hope that you will stand with us by contacting your representatives in the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the White House to tell them not to restrict humanitarian parole.

Contact your representatives

Residents of Tompkins County are in New York’s 19^th Congressional District, represented by Marc Molinaro in the House of Representatives and Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand in the Senate.

You can use the letter below to contact your representatives via phone or email. Phone calls are the most impactful method of contact.

Congressman Marc Molinaro
Local phone number: (607) 242-0200
Washington, D.C. phone number: (202) 225-5441
Email form

Senator Chuck Schumer
Local phone number: (607) 772-6792
Washington, D.C. phone number: (202) 224-6542
Email form

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Local phone number: (315) 448-0470
Washington, D.C. phone number: (202) 224-4451
Email form

President Joseph R. Biden
Email form

Form letter

Since becoming aware of Congress’ consideration of restrictions to our humanitarian parole policies, I have felt the need to reach out and express my disapproval. Walking this policy back will not only severely limit the number of people that can be admitted into the United States, it will deny vulnerable individuals and families the ability to apply for asylum while living within our borders.

In the 19^th Congressional District and across the country this policy has had a life-changing impact, most recently for those fleeing the Taliban reconquest of Afghanistan and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Between 2021-2023, 65-100% of all refugees resettled in Tompkins County by Ithaca Welcomes Refugees were able to flee instability and persecution through parole, arriving from countries such as Ukraine, Haiti, Nicaragua, Burma, and Afghanistan.

Congress has not seen fit to restructure our outdated immigration policies in over 34 years, leaving those who would seek asylum or flee dangerous situations dependent upon humanitarian parole to find safe haven in the United States. Limiting parole would only serve to further hamper our convoluted immigration system and prevent those fleeing persecution from seeking asylum. Furthermore, short-sighted rollbacks on executive powers will limit every following presidential administration from admitting vulnerable individuals and families into the U.S. indefinitely.

As a citizen of New York State and a constituent within the 19^th Congressional District who cares for our domestic and global community, I urge you to reconsider the push by Republican lawmakers to limit the executive power of parole and oppose further restrictions to reasonable immigration policies. Thank you for your time.