Safeguarding Americans From Extremist Risk (SAFER) at the Border Act

The SAFER at the Border Act would tighten and narrow the use of parole for arriving aliens at the U.S. border. It creates new, explicit categories (known terrorists, special interest aliens, and suspected terrorists) and significantly restricts when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may grant parole under current law. Parole would be limited to urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit and would operate on a strict, case-by-case basis. The bill also adds multiple disqualifications, including for refugees, individuals listed on terrorism or security watchlists, those with terrorism-related charges or convictions, and individuals whose travel patterns or other information indicate a potential nexus to terrorism. In short, the bill makes parole an even rarer tool at the border and elevates security-screening bars for who may be paroled.