A Tearful Reunion In LA As Biden Revives A Refugee Program Trump Had Canceledk
By
Leslie Berestein Rojas
Published Oct 8, 2021 11:45 AM
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Samael, right, who arrived from El Salvador last week, poses for a selfie with his younger brother Jonathan, who was raised in L.A.
(Leslie Berestein Rojas/LAist)
On a recent Friday afternoon, 25-year-old Samael lounged on the grass with his parents and younger brother at a park in North Hollywood, taking everything in. He’d just flown in to LAX two days earlier from El Salvador. It’s his first time here — and his first time seeing his family in person since he was 4 years old.
“I couldn’t imagine it, being able to be here, with them,” Samael said, his voice wavering with emotion.
In 2017, Samael was in line to come to the United States through the little-known Central American Minors Refugee and Parole Program, or CAM. The Obama administration started it in late 2014, as unaccompanied children and teens from the region began arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in large numbers, fleeing gang violence.
The program allowed parents who were legally present in the U.S. to apply on behalf of their minor children under 21 living in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
More:
https://laist.com/news/tearful-reunions-in-la-biden-revives-refugee-program-trump-had-canceled-cam-central-american-minors
