The United States resumes its program to sponsor minors in Central America | The most important news and analysis in Latin America | DW

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On Tuesday (9/14-2021), the United States will begin receiving new applications for the Underage Reception Program from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, which seeks to prevent children and teens from making dangerous journeys from Central America to meet. Their parents are on US soil.

This was stated by two officials in the administration of US President, Joe Biden, who reinstated this initiative on March 10 after his predecessor Donald Trump (2017-2021) canceled it in 2017.

Under the Central American Minors (CAM) Program, the United States government brings together with their parents those children and adolescents who remain in Central America, as long as a series of requirements are met and their parents are legal residents of US soil.

Starting Tuesday, September 14, new applications for CAM, which provides at-risk children and teens in those three countries, will be accepted to legally enter and reside in the United States, the Departments of State and Homeland Security said in a joint report. statment.

A program created by Biden in 2014

CAM, created by Democrat Biden in 2014 when he was Vice President Barack Obama, was abolished in 2018 as part of former Republican President Donald Trump’s harsh anti-immigration policy.

But upon reaching the White House this year, Biden resumed that.

The Biden administration in March allowed pending cases to reopen as of January 31, 2018. In June, it expanded the conditions for participation in CAM: as well as parents, legal guardians, and adults with pending legal status, including those who have applied for asylum and are awaiting resolution of their cases.

According to the official statement, “The reopening of the College of Alternative Medicine along with expanding eligibility are components of President Biden’s multi-pronged approach to addressing the challenges of irregular migration across Central and North America.”

With CAM reinvigorated, the Biden administration is seeking to stem the flow of irregular migration at the southern border and cut off the business of “coyotes” (human traffickers), thus avoiding the dangerous journey north of children and young adults alone.

“It is important to keep in mind that eligible minors cannot access this program from Mexico or from the southern border of the United States,” said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

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