US Migration Program to Reunify Some Minors with Family

The U.S. State Department and Department of Homeland Security recently announced the expansion of a program to help some minors¹ from Central America legally enter the U.S.

The Central American Minors (CAM) program permits immigrant parents or legal guardians³ in the United States to seek their children's resettlement in the U.S. The Biden administration restarted the program in March after a four-year break.

Officials say expansion of the Central American Minors program could make up to 100,000 people eligible⁵ to come to the U.S.

How does the program work?

Some minors can be given permission to travel to the country if they are sponsored by a parent or guardian⁴ already living legally in the U.S. To be eligible for CAM, the applicant⁶ must be unmarried, under 21 and a citizen of El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras. No money is required to apply. Eligible minors must also complete a security investigation⁷ before being brought to the United States.

Miriam Abaya is senior director for immigration and children's rights at First Focus on Children. The group works to support the needs of children and families in federal policy and budget decisions. Abaya says the CAM program involves a multi-step process.

The first step involves the parent completing an application through the refugee resettlement process. Next, there is a process to confirm the child's relationship with the applicant. Then, officials speak with the child to decide whether or not the child is eligible for refugee status or for "parole" in the U.S.

What is the difference between refugee status and being paroled in the U.S.?

Being "paroled" is a temporary status that permits a migrant to enter the country but without a path to permanent residency, also known as a green card. By comparison, entering as a refugee can lead to permanent status.

"If you get refugee status, once you arrive in the U.S., you have lawful⁸ status so you can adjust to get a green card," Abaya said. She noted⁹ that eligibility¹⁰ for refugee status is "very specific" and that many CAM applicants¹¹ may not be eligible.

"If you get paroled [into the country], then you don't necessarily have [permanent] status in the U.S., but you're permitted to be in the country for a temporary period of time," she said.

What effect has the program had since it began in 2014?

Immigration experts say the program was slow to process applicants from the start. The first minors began arriving in the U.S. in November 2015. That was almost a year after CAM's creation under the administration of former President Barack Obama.

By the end of 2016, more than 10,500 applications were waiting to be processed. That information comes from a report by the Niskanen Center, a public policy research group in Washington, D.C. The U.S. resettled 3,000 minors before stopping the program in 2017 and cancelling the acceptance of 2,700 children who had not yet entered the U.S.

During the Obama administration, parents who had received aid were permitted to apply for their children.

Under the Biden administration's relaunching of the program, a parent or legal guardian in the U.S. who has an undecided asylum¹² or a "U" visa legal case can also file an application. U visas are for victims of some crimes who have assisted U.S. law enforcement investigations¹³.

What has been the reaction to the program's relaunch?

Critics of the program note that it is unlikely to greatly reduce the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border without permission.

Chuck Grassley is the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He said in a statement, "I'm worried that this effort is going to be somehow passed off as an effort to address the number of migrants at the southern border when it does nothing to stem the flow or address the crisis created by this administration."

Immigrant supporters have welcomed the restart of the CAM program. However, they note that eligibility does not cover the full number of family members who may wish to apply to bring a minor² to the U.S.

Miriam Abaya said, "It's not just parents and legal guardians that care for children. There are aunts, there's a grandparent who is in the United States, and those family members don't have any way to apply."

Words in This Story

eligible – adj. qualified¹⁴ to take part in a program or activity

sponsor – v. to take responsibility and give financial support to another person

application – n. a formal and usually written request for something

adjust – v. to change something slightly so that it works or fits better

unaccompanied – adj. not having anyone with you when you go somewhere

stem – v. to stop something from continuing or increasing

1 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

3 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

4 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

5 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

6 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

11 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

12 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

13 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

14 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。