The following article was published in the May-June 2015 NewsNotes.
In a recent press release, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) stated, “The Central American Minors (CAM) program ... which allows children in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador to apply for asylum and humanitarian parole in the U.S. from their home countries, is a tool that helps save children’s lives.”
Anastasia K. Brown, with the USCCB’s Migration and Refugee Services (MRS), praised the program during an April 23 Senate subcommittee hearing. She stated that the CAM program should be considered one part of a multi-dimensional approach to child migration from the region. Other elements would include strengthening asylum and child welfare systems in neighboring countries and addressing the push factors, such as violence and the lack of opportunity, in Central America.
Her testimony can be found here.