Central
American "Refugee" Program Admits Few Actual Refugees
By Jessica Vaughan
Most of
the youths being approved under the Obama administration's new Central American
Minors Refugee/Parole (CAM ) Program do not qualify as refugees, but are being admitted
as parolees, according to new data released in a stakeholders' teleconference
last week, confirming earlier reports.
This
program, unveiled in November 2014, has been misleadingly described as a
refugee program that will provide a safe alternative to hiring the criminal
alien smuggling organizations that have been enriched by the administration's
open door policy for illegal juvenile and family arrivals from Central America.
In the official program announcement, the State Department stated:
The refugee/parole program will not
be a pathway for undocumented parents to bring their children to the United States .
In fact,
as even the most cursory examination of the program makes clear, the CAM is essentially an unauthorized
family reunification program for Central Americans who came to the United States illegally and who are not eligible
for any legal program to bring in the family members that they left behind.
So far,
about 4,300 applications have been accepted, representing about 4,800 people.
The parent sponsors must fall into one of five categories, mostly covering
illegal aliens in the United States who have been given a temporary
quasi-legal status.
Of those
adjudicated (so far about 90), only 12 percent received conditional approval as
refugees. The vast majority, 84 percent, were conditionally approved as
parolees. The remaining 4 percent are undergoing additional review (meaning
they don't appear to be approvable at this point, but the agency will do its
best to find a way to say yes).
A
representative of one of the many "mas-migration" groups on the
conference call voiced disgruntlement that so few of the applicants were being
awarded refugee status, which in addition to qualifying the applicant for a
vast array of public welfare benefits also leads to a green card and
potentially citizenship. A USCIS presenter noted that parole is not such a bad
deal either, as it's a status from which one potentially can adjust to a green
card, and the relatives of parolees also can obtain parole.
A
participant from the Post-Deportation Human Rights Program of Boston College
asked the government officials to confirm that it is possible for juveniles who
have been deported from the United States , and who have other problems such
as criminal convictions or gang membership that would normally disqualify them,
to be approved for this program. The officials confirmed that this is possible,
and that these applicants could seek a waiver for certain disqualifying
factors, as refugees can.
One
participant asked if a parent could sponsor a child for this program if the
parent is currently in removal proceedings. A government official said he would
look into that.
No
information was offered on how many of the applications have been received in
each of the qualifying categories of sponsors. This information is tracked on
the Affidavits of Responsibility that are part of the application. The five
categories of status that qualify a parent to sponsor a child through CAM are: Lawful Permanent Resident
(even though green card holders already can sponsor their children so they have
no need for refugee status or parole); Temporary Protected Status; Parole;
Deferred Action (including U visa holder, VAWA petitioners, and DACA
recipients); and Deferred Enforced Departure/Withholding of Removal. All of
these categories except for LPR are used primarily to launder the status of
illegal aliens. Under the law, individuals with TPS, Parole, Deferred Action,
and DED are not permitted to sponsor family members for admission because they
are not a legal form of admission or permanent residence.
During the
Q&A part of the teleconference I asked if the government presenters could
provide information on 1) the number of applicants seeking waivers of
ineligibility/inadmissibility and 2) the number of applications from sponsors
in each of the five qualified categories. They asked me to submit the questions
through their website, and I have not heard back. The Senate Judiciary
Committee submitted similar questions after holding a hearing on the program
last April entitled "Eroding the Law and Diverting Taxpayer Resources: An
Examination of the Administration's Central American Minors Refugee/Parole
Program".
Reprinted
from Jessica Vaughan’s Blog, Center for Immigration Studies
Ben Ferro
(Editor, Insideins.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment
We value your comments