Revived Obama-Era Program Could Reunite Migrant Kids and Families
The Obama-era Central American Minors program offers a safe, legal alternative to the dangerous journey that migrant children undertake to reach the United States.
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An unprecedented number of unaccompanied migrant children have been placed with sponsors in states across the country this year and thousands more could arrive under a new federal program aimed at providing a path for children left behind in Central America to join immigrant parents who are legally living in the United States, reports Pew Stateline. To encourage a safe, legal alternative to the dangerous journey that some children are currently taking to reach the United States, the Biden administration revived the Obama-era Central American Minors program.
The program allows certain parents living legally in the U.S. to request that their children under 21 in Guatemala, El Salvador or Honduras be interviewed in their home countries for resettlement. 70 percent of the 75,165 unaccompanied minors processed between October 2020 and August by the Office of Refugee Resettlement were placed with sponsors in 10 states. At least 1,335 children arrived in the United States under the program, while some 2,700 others who were approved were left in their home countries because the program ended under Trump. In March, the Biden administration began processing some of the outstanding applications and have, thus far, successfully processed about 40 applications under the previous version of the program.
