Biden Administration to Restart Central American Minors Program

Biden Administration to Restart Central American Minors Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 10, 2021

Contact: Timothy Younger | tyoung@lirs.org | 443-257-6310

Washington D.C. — The State Division introduced the reopening of the Central American Minors, or CAM, program for youngsters from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. This system, which ran from 2014 by means of 2017, was created to offer a safer course of for susceptible youngsters fleeing violence to reunify with household within the U.S.

This system might be restarted in two phases.  The primary part will contain processing eligible purposes that have been closed when this system was terminated. This part may benefit over 3,000 youngsters that have been awaiting processing when this system was abruptly terminated by the Trump administration in 2017.  The second part will enable new software submissions – the State Division suggested up to date steerage is forthcoming.

The next is an announcement by Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, the most important faith-based nonprofit devoted completely to serving susceptible immigrant youngsters and households within the U.S.:

“The re-launch of this program is a welcome and promising growth. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service was an implementing companion of this system earlier than its abrupt cancellation, and its affect can’t be overstated. This system represents our nation’s bedrock precept of household unity put into follow. When households are collectively, America thrives.

We commend the Biden administration for taking compassionate, commonsense steps to streamline the method, make it safer and extra environment friendly, and develop it to assist extra youngsters and households. However there’s a lot work forward to rebuild the infrastructure of welcome – tragically, most of the native assist websites who assist these households have been pressured to shutter their doorways because of the earlier administration’s assault on immigration.

Restarting this system may have its challenges, however we’re extremely heartened by the brand new administration’s dedication to restoring humanitarian management and increasing a serving to hand to households in want. We look ahead to working with the Biden administration to construct on the success of the unique program and additional enhance it to make sure extra households have a possibility to reunite with the assist they want. We additionally look ahead to the administration issuing a revised presidential dedication for FY21, which might assist hundreds extra households reunite.“

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Based in 1939, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) is among the largest immigration and refugee resettlement businesses in the USA. LIRS is nationally acknowledged for its management working with and advocating for refugees, asylum seekers, unaccompanied youngsters, immigrants in detention, households fractured by migration and different susceptible populations. By way of 80 years of service and advocacy, LIRS has helped over 500,000 migrants and refugees rebuild their lives in America.