Biden's Plan for Central American Migrants: Fly Them Straight to the U.S.

Bill points to a three-part approach for in-country processing

The Biden administration is reviving and expanding on the Central American Minors Refugee/Parole program launched in 2014 (and expanded in 2016) by the Obama administration, and terminated in 2017 by the Trump administration.1 While Biden's February executive order sought to "to reinstitute and improve upon the CAM Parole Program" only,2 the entire program, in a new advanced version, is making a comeback.3

The new CAM version will have more outreach, but the rationale is the same: Don't come here illegally because we will design in-country processing programs to get you in legally. That was, in essence, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' recent message to Central Americans rushing to the Southern border when he asked them to "wait".4 Mayorkas was clear: "We are not saying don't come. We are saying don't come now, because we will be able to provide a safe and orderly process to them."5 (All emphases in quotations are added unless otherwise indicated.) Three programs, specifically designed for Central Americans as "additional options for legal pathways for migration", are likely to be forthcoming.6

That is also, in essence, what President Biden told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos when asked about the "crisis at the border":

I can say quite clearly don't come over. And the process of getting set up, and it's not gonna take a whole long time, is to be able to apply for asylum in place. So don't leave your town or city or community. We're gonna make sure we have facilities in those cities and towns run by department of — by DHS and also access with HHS, the Health and Human Services, to say you can apply for asylum from where you are right now.7

The question remains: Will reopening in-country processing (or what I have called the "back door"8) convince people to apply for a ticket instead of simply showing up at the door? This disincentivizing strategy did not seem to work for the Obama administration; it may not for this one either. Biden's plan may be more elaborate than Obama's, but there is no guarantee it will help resolve the ongoing border crisis.

Restarting CAM

The Department of State announced on March 10 the reopening of the Central American Minors (CAM) program:

As another concrete step in implementing our comprehensive regional migration management strategy, we are expanding legal pathways to enter the United States by reopening the Central American Minors (CAM) program. As directed by President Biden, the Departments of State and Homeland Security (DHS) have initiated the first phase of reinstituting and improving the CAM program to reunite qualified children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras with their parent or parents who are lawfully present in the United States.9

The program is presented as an essential protection tool for children:

The program ... represents our continued commitment to ensure that our immigration system ... protects the most vulnerable, especially children.10

But CAM, following its 2016 expansion, was no longer limited to "minor children"; adult sons and daughters could also qualify. It was not even restricted to the "children" (minors or adults) of U.S.-based parents; adult "caregivers" (grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles, etc.) were also able to join in.11

CAM is set reopen in two phases under the Biden administration...

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