Washington, D.C. (January 28, 2021) –
A new analysis from the Center for Immigration Studies concludes that the new Biden administration will likely revive and expand two programs from the Obama era which will enable the admission of Central Americans behind the scenes, without having to deal with disturbing and politically inconvenient images from a border crisis.
Dr. Nayla Rush, a senior researcher at the Center and author of the analysis, said, "The Biden team knows that its immigration proposals could trigger a crisis at the border, with thousands of migrants from Central America rushing to claim asylum in the United States. To avoid embarrassing images of such a crisis, I expect the administration to open the 'back door' to this country by reviving and reinforcing programs that bring Central Americans here directly, away from the gaze of the media."
The Biden administration immigration bill proposes to restart the Central American Minors (CAM) Refugee/Parole program, created by the Obama administration and halted under Trump. CAM was initially set up to provide certain minors (later expanded to include adult children, married children, biological parents, and “caregivers”) in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras with legally resident parents in the U.S. the opportunity to be considered, while still in their home country, for refugee resettlement. Individuals found ineligible for refugee status were considered for the possibility of entering the United States under parole.
The Trump administration ended the CAM Program in 2018 because relatively few people qualified (since most Central Americans parents in the U.S. are illegal aliens) and the vast majority of those seeking to enter the U.S. through the program did not qualify as refugees.
Rush notes, “If legislation does not re-instate CAM, President Biden could start up the program through executive order. The administration might also further expand the program by allowing those
illegally present in the United States to also petition for their adult children and their families, as well as for other family members or acquaintances; also, requirements like proof of kinship and DNA testing, background checks, and medical clearance could be eased or dropped altogether.”
Under Obama those from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras who could not be processed under CAM in their own countries had the opportunity to be transferred to Costa Rica, a "country of transit", under the Protection Transfer Arrangement (PTA) — mostly funded by the United States — before being resettled here. The Biden administration could expand PTA, with the United States committing to accept more individuals for resettlement referred through the PTA and devoting more money to the program to encourage Costa Rica to provide more capacity.
