Trump Closed little-known door for Family Reunification, leaving Refugees Stranded.

The Central American Minors Program (CAM) was created in late 2014 in response to a surge of tens of thousands of Unaccompanied Children fleeing violence in the Region. The Program was billed as a Safe Alternative to a Dangerous Journey North through Mexico. It allowed Immigrants who were Lawfully present in the U.S. to Apply for Refugee Status or Humanitarian Parole on Behalf of their Children under 21, their Spouses, and Grandchildren, living in El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras.

The Demise of the Program was just the latest Rollback under President Trump of an Obama Administration Humanitarian Relief Initiative. The current Administration has abruptly ended Programs including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and a Case Management Program meant to keep Asylum-seeking Families out of Detention.

"The CAM program, as modest as it was, was always an effort to create a safer way of coming to the United States for people who actually had an eligibility to come," said Doris Meissner, who led the Immigration and Naturalization Service from 1993 to 2000, and now is Director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute. Ending the program worsens what the Trump Administration says it's trying to Deter, she said.

Six Plaintiff Families filed a Class-Action lawsuit this Month in California against the Administration over the Rermination of the Refugee Program.
The Lawsuit alleges that the Government Secretly Ended the Program days after Trump took Office in January 2017 but didn't Publicly Announce the Decision until August 2017, Violating their Constitutional Rights to Due Process and Equal Protection. Lawyers say U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services continuing to accept Money from Applicants, including $400 for DNA Tests, $100 or more for Medical Exams, and $1,400 for each Child's Plane Ticket. In response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the International Refugee Assistance Project, the Citizenship Agency released Emails showing that it had Canceled more than 2,000 CAM Interviews scheduled beginning in January 2018.

When the Program ended, more than 2,700 Young People had their Conditional Approvals to move to the U.S. Rescinded, according to the Complaint. All had left the Northern Triangle, the area in Central America made up of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The Three Countries have some of the highest Murder Rates in the World because of rampant Corruption, Drug Trafficking, and Bang Activity.

The Complaint asks that the Court Reinstate those Conditional Approvals and allow the Beneficiaries the Opportunity to Travel to the U.S.

According to the Complaint over the CAM Program's End, some Parents took out Loans to pay for Plane Tickets, sometimes with only Days notice from Migration Authorities. Some Paid Hundreds of Dollars to Safely Transport their Children from their Hometowns to attend numerous Interviews in the Capital Cities of each Country. Parents waited nearly a Year for Flight Reimbursements. The only other Costs Reimbursed were for DNA Tests. Many spent extra Money on Accommodations and New Clothes for their Children's Arrival.

After the CAM Program was Terminated, the International Organization for Migration told Applicants who had been Conditionally Approved for Parole, and all of whom had been deemed Ineligible for Refugee Resettlement, that they could File a Request for Review of the Denial of Refugee Status within 90 days.

Linda Evarts, an Attorney with the International Refugee Assistance Project who Represents the Plaintiffs, said most haven't heard back.










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