When a noncitizen arrives at a port of entry - whether by air, sea, or land - and does not have a visa or other proper documents allowing them to enter the U.S. (an "inadmissible"), port authorities need to decide how the person should be handled. While the current administration is seeking "mass deportation" and at the border port authorities have the authority to deport the individual directly through expedited removal procedures, the use of expedited removal authority was actually down by 12 percent over the last twelve months. The issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Immigration Court had also fallen.

Instead, port authorities allowed more and more noncitizens entry to this country through parole. Immigration parole allows noncitizens to temporarily enter and reside in the U.S. without formal admission, usually for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. The number of individuals granted immigration parole increased from 3,304 in February 2025 to 12,639 in January 2026.

This latest monthly count has risen above the monthly numbers during the last months of the Biden administration. Parolees now comprise a record-breaking 61.5 percent of all inadmissibles. Once parolees are subtracted, all other dispositions have actually fallen over the last twelve months.

Almost every field office experienced growth in the number of inadmissibles. Boston showed the largest increase in inadmissibles of 153 percent over the last three months. Boston also led rankings in the largest jump in foreign nationals granted immigration parole - up over 600 percent.

Not surprisingly, the largest number of individuals who sought to enter the country without adequate documentation came from Mexico and Canada which share their borders with the U.S. However, individuals from India topped the list for those granted immigration parole for humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit in January 2026. Eighty-five percent of all individuals from India who recently sought entry to the U.S. without proper papers were granted parole.

The full report provides further details on these inadmissibles. To dig further into all the details, by nationality, time period, age, gender and field office, use TRAC's online tool, Stopping "Inadmissibles" at U.S. Ports of Entry.