Viral Claim About Weekly Migrant Paroles Gets the Numbers Game Wrong

A claim circulating online suggests the Biden Administration paroled between 150,000 and 250,000 noncitizens into the United States *per week*. That’s a staggering figure—if true, it would represent an unprecedented influx. But according to data from Customs and Border Protection, the actual numbers tell a very different story.

The reality sits somewhere between“significant increase”and the viral claim. From FY2021-2024, CBP granted parole to an average of 67,998 noncitizens per month—nowhere near the weekly figures being passed around. August 2023 saw the highest monthly peak at 121,617 parolees, yet even that single-month spike pales against claims of 150,000-plus *per week*.

To understand why these numbers jumped in the first place, you need context. Between FY2012 and 2020, monthly parole averages hovered around 22,693. The Biden Administration authorized four new parole programs, which tripled the throughput. These programs allow noncitizens deemed inadmissible—usually because they lack proper visas or documentation—to enter the country legally on a temporary basis and potentially receive work authorization. The statute permits parole“on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”

The Trump Administration had taken the opposite approach, terminating one such program and ending Family Reunification Parole programs for several Latin American countries.

Since February 2025, the numbers have shifted again—parole grants have dropped to an average of 19,965 per month, the lowest level in years. That’s a return closer to pre-Biden-Administration trends, though still above the FY2012-2020 baseline.

The takeaway? The Biden Administration did dramatically increase parole numbers through policy changes, and those increases were real. But the viral claim inflates the weekly figures by roughly 2.5 to 4 times the actual monthly average. When immigration policy makes headlines, the difference between what happened and what people *think* happened matters just as much as the policy itself.