Protecting the Refugee: Twisting the Definition Undermines Humanitarian Efforts

Earlier this week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced an in-country refugee and parole system to process qualified minors from the three countries in the “Northern Triangle.” Up to 5 million unlawful immigrants, those who may benefit from President Obama’s executive amnesty, will be able to apply for legal reunification of their family members, mostly children, through the refugee or parole systems.

The refugee and parole systems are important humanitarian programs for those individuals facing truly dire circumstances. Refugee and parole statuses have allowed many individuals to receive entry into the United States, and for refugees, aid and support as well. To be identified as a refugee, a candidate must: be located outside the U.S.; be able to demonstrate that he or she was persecuted or fears persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group; not be firmly resettled in another country; and be admissible to the U.S. In 2013, the U.S. granted refugee status to 66,200 of the 98,400 individuals resettled worldwide, making the U.S. the number one country of resettlement globally.

The President’s Central American Minors (CAM) Refugee/Parole Program provides qualified minors in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala the opportunity to obtain a refugee or parole status if a qualified parent resides in the United States. Children are qualified if they are unmarried, under 21, nationals of one of those Central American countries, and meet the criteria for refuge or parole. Parents are qualified within the U.S. if they are in one of the following statuses: permanent residency, temporary protected status, parole, deferred action, deferred enforced departure, or withholding or removal.

Properly used, the program could be a way to allow individuals deserving refuge to acquire such status without fleeing their home country. For individuals who are legally in the U.S., it makes sense to reunite them with their children if those children face persecution.

However, this program allows parents who are recipients of President Obama’s executive amnesty, also known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, to apply to bring their children to the U.S. even though they are in the U.S. illegally. By extending this program to individuals who are here unlawfully, the Obama Administration is abusing one of America’s great humanitarian tools.

Even more concerning is the way in which parole could increase illegal overstays. Unlike refugees, which were limited in fiscal year 2015 to 4,000 individuals from Latin America, there is no numerical limitation on the number that can be paroled, and the standards for parole are much less restrictive then the standards for refuge. This risk of overstay is especially real since many of these children’s parents could be recipients of deferred action and already in the U.S. illegally.

The President’s announcement of the new in-country refugee and parole system undermines the faith and trust the American people have in their generous humanitarian structure for refugees. These programs, which have been the backbone for supporting and serving persecuted individuals, should not be connected to the President’s unlawful and harmful executive action. Yes, uniting persecuted and qualified children with parents who are in the U.S. legally is a great humanitarian service, but allowing unlawful immigrants to use this system, possibly to further additional illegal immigration, will only undercut America’s important humanitarian tools.