Better Odds Crossing Illegally Than Applying? Jean-Pierre on the 30,000-a-Month Parole Program (January 6, 2023)

A day after President Joe Biden unveiled a new parole program for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, a reporter brought numbers to the White House briefing. “It seems like you might have a better chance crossing the border and being allowed to stay than applying for this program because there are only 30,000 slots per month,” the reporter said [1].

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not dispute it. “Look, I will go back to what I have said and what the President has said, I think, very passionately yesterday and very precisely, which is that, you know, we are doing everything that we can to secure the border and to deal with irregular migration,” she said [1].

The video above shows the exchange from the Jan. 6, 2023, White House briefing. Quotes are from the official transcript published by the American Presidency Project [1].

”Only 30,000 Slots per Month”

The reporter had done the math. “I looked at the most recent month of data for people who crossed the border and how they’re handled. And it seems that under this new program — and please correct me if the data is outdated — it seems like you might have a better chance crossing the border and being allowed to stay,” the reporter said [1].

Jean-Pierre answered by blaming Republicans. “And, you know, again, Republicans in Congress and Republicans official — across — across the country who have done political stunts are not,” she said. “And if they truly want to deal with this issue, they would come to the table” [1].

She called the program a first step. “We understand this is one step. We understand to actually fix what — what is happening, this broken immigration system that we have seen for decades now, is to actually get legislation done,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

”Trying to Have It Both Ways?”

Earlier, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby faced a sharper question. “One of the central criticisms is that the administration is expanding Title 42 while also claiming to — to be preparing for it to end. So when it comes to Title 42, are you trying to have it both ways?” a reporter asked [1].

“No. No,” Kirby said. Title 42, he said, “was used by the previous administration as an immigration policy. It’s not.” Then he confirmed the expansion: “Yes, we are looking at expanded enforcement temporarily under 42, with the expectation fully that it will go away” [1].

”Not Something We’ve Seen”

Kirby made a striking admission about the scale. The expansion, he said, “is in response to literally a historic, unprecedented level of migration from south of us in this hemisphere” [1].

“The numbers and the scale of the migration challenge is really not something we’ve seen any time in the last hundred years or so,” Kirby said [1].

A reporter noted that “Mexico has now agreed to take 30,000 migrants from these four countries who attempt to cross the border illegally,” and asked whether the U.S. was giving Mexico aid. “I just don’t know. I’d also refer you to DHS on that,” Kirby said [1].

”A Billion Dollars”

Another reporter raised the cost to American cities. “New York Mayor Adams, who you quoted earlier, is requesting a billion dollars from the federal government to help deal with the migration issue in the city. New York has reportedly only been approved for $8 million,” the reporter said [1].

“But for any specific on that funding to New York City, I would refer you to DHS,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

Asked why Biden was finally going to the border, she said he “wanted to see it for himself” [1].

”In a Couple of Months”

The briefing ended with a question about Biden’s health. “Has he completed his physical yet?” a reporter asked. “I — I don’t have any news to share about where he is with the physical,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

“He had said he would do it by the end of the year,” the reporter noted. “And well, I think I had said, ‘in a couple of months.’ I don’t think I’ve ever said end — ‘end of the year,’” she answered [1].

Asked why it was later than in 2021, she pointed to his travel: “He traveled across the country. And so, he had a very hectic schedule.” His doctor, she said, “has said — is that he’s in good health. He’s in very good health” [1].

By the Numbers

30,000: monthly parole slots for the four countries, as the reporter noted [1].
30,000: migrants a month Mexico agreed to take back, as another reporter noted [1].
$1 billion: what New York’s mayor sought [1].
$8 million: what New York had reportedly been approved for [1].
100 years: the span Kirby said had seen nothing like this migration [1].

What Happened Next

Crossings hit a record. Three weeks later, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told the Senate that “a quarter million people illegally crossed our southwest border in 1 month” in December [2]. For how Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas handled Title 42’s end in May 2023, see HYGO News’ page on that day.

Trump ended the parole program. On March 25, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security announced it “is terminating the categorical parole programs for inadmissible aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and their immediate family members” [3].

Trump declared an emergency. On Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump proclaimed “that a national emergency exists at the southern border of the United States” [4].

For the briefing three days earlier, see the page on “does anybody here think the border is secure?”.

For more of Jean-Pierre’s answers checked against the record, see the Karine Jean-Pierre record page.