Between Fiscal Year 2014 and June 30, 2016 more than 83,000 unaccompanied minors have crossed the U.S. Mexican border illegally through the Rio Grande Valley Sector, or about 65 percent of the total number of Central American children crossing into the U.S. through the southwest border without a parent or guardian.
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“Our current efforts to date have been insufficient to address the number of people who may have legitimate refugee claims”, Amy Pope, deputy homeland security adviser at Obama’s National Security Council, told a telephone briefing for reporters.
Under the plan, Costa Rica will host up to 200 applicants at a time as they are processed by the Department of Homeland Security for possible resettlement, according to several administration officials who spoke to reporters by phone.
The Obama administration announced a broad expansion on Tuesday of a program to let people fleeing violence in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras enter the United States as refugees, and said Costa Rica agreed to temporarily shelter some of those with no other recourse.
“Through the Central American Minors program, the US government offers an alternative, safe, and legal path to the United States for children seeking protection from harm or persecution in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras”, said Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson in official statement.
As part of this new initiative, the Central American Minors program will expand to include additional relationships to a child who qualifies for the refugee program, including siblings over the age of 21, the in-country biological parent if one parent is lawfully present in the USA, and “caregivers” of the child.
The U.S. would provide more people at U.S. embassies in Central America to accept asylum applications and begin the screening process.
Pope said it is unclear how many families and children may benefit from the enhanced programs but officials expect requests for help to steadily increase as the programs get underway in the coming months.
By themselves, today’s actions will not solve the challenge of Central American refugees but are steps in the right direction to address the problem, said Richard.
Obama is expanding the program even though a federal court blocked his plan to shield millions of immigrants from deportation.
There are still restrictive eligibility requirements: Most undocumented parents are ineligible to apply to have their children join them in the USA, and adults can only enter under the program if they’re traveling with approved minors.
“This will help achieve one of our overarching goals, which is family unity”, Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on the call.
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Border agents apprehended tens of thousands of families at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2014, majority seeking asylum from Central America. Asylum applications from El Salvador make up almost half of the some 1,500 applications Costa Rica has received so far this year.
