The shortcomings of CAM as a refugee and parole pathway for Guatemalan children is also striking given the Biden administration’s commitment to resettle 15,000 refugees from Latin America and the Caribbean and its parole of tens of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans since the fall of 2022. southern border than children of any other nationality. This is troubling, given that children in Guatemala face high rates of violence and lack of access to social services and that more unaccompanied Guatemalan children have arrived at the U.S. The absence of public reporting on CAM arrivals makes accountability difficult, but Refugees International’s research makes clear that few, if any, Guatemalan children have arrived in the United States as either refugees or parolees through Phase 2 of the CAM program.

Expanded eligibility under the Biden administration’s Phase 2 of the program has given more Guatemalan parents the ability to apply for CAM since September 2021. The Central American Minors (CAM) program is designed to reunite children at risk in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala with their parents in the United States.

Camworks 2015