We finally have good news for Central American Minors that are separated from their parents.
The State Department has announced that it is restarting the Central American Minors, or CAM, Parole Program that had been ended by the previous administration in 2017. The CAM Parole Program provides an additional channel for lawful entry into the United States to reunite qualified children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras with their parents who are lawfully present in the United States.
The State Department is working with the Department of Homeland Security to reopen the program in two phases:
- Process eligible parole applications that were closed when the program terminated in 2017, and
- Begin to accept new applications with updated guidance.
The agencies have already identified the suspended cases eligible for reopening and will reach out to the parents through domestic resettlement agencies starting the week of March 15.
The agencies are working on new guidance to reopen the program for new applicants and will publish that guidance soon. As soon as we learn more we will post it here.