Thread: CA - Inland Reps Take Divergent Positions on Immigration Program

One side of the debate say CAM is an effective way to deal with the humanitarian crisis in Central America, the other say it's amnesty

By Alexander Nguyen (Patch Staff) May 29, 2015

An Obama administration program that seeks to bring the children and spouses of undocumented immigrants from Central America to the United States at taxpayer expense to live as refugees is yielding opposition and support from congressional representatives in Riverside County.

“I recognize the situation that many children in Central America face. However, I fear that this program is the wrong solution,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Temecula, one of the four members of the county’s congressional delegation who responded to City News Service’s request for comment about the Central American Minors program, or CAM.

The program officially began Dec. 1 and is immune to the legal battle raging over the president’s November executive orders instituting a moratorium on deportations for undocumented immigrants who can prove they’ve been in the country for at least five years.

Federal authorities estimate between four and five million foreigners may qualify under the executive action, which triggered a lawsuit by 26 states that challenged the president’s authority to implement measures -- without congressional approval -- that fundamentally change federal immigration law.

A U.S. District Court judge in Texas issued an injunction in February halting the presidential orders until they could be litigated. A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the injunction, and the case is slated to be argued before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in July.

CAM took effect after the presidential directives but was conceived and formed as part of the fiscal year 2015 U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, run by the U.S. State Department, according to agency spokeswoman Christine Getzler.

Under CAM, the parent of a child 21 years or younger residing in El Salvador, Guatemala or Honduras can apply for that minor to be admitted to the U.S. The parent applying for the child’s admittance can be in the U.S. illegally as a “parolee” contesting deportation, a recognized permanent resident, or enjoying temporary “protected status,” such as “deferred enforced departure,” according to the State Department.

CAM also allows that the spouse of the applicant can be considered for admission, as well as the offspring of the minor child approved for admission. There is no limit on the number of applications that can be filed, according to State Department documents.

Getzler said nearly 500 applications are currently under review.

“The (administration) has established this in-country refugee program ... to provide a safe, legal and orderly alternative to the dangerous journey that some children are currently undertaking to the United States,” the State Department spokeswoman told City News Service.

Last summer, so-called “unaccompanied minors” electrified the immigration debate as youths and young adults poured across the border to claim refugee status and asylum in the U.S. Critics blamed the Obama administration for the estimated 40,000 asylum-seekers who crossed into Texas from Mexico, apparently hoping to take advantage of the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.

When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials attempted to transport busloads of migrants to the Border Patrol facility in Murrieta for processing last July, protesters blocked the vehicles, gaining national attention.

Hunter told CNS the CAM program, like DACA, “sends the wrong message to those who enter our country illegally.”

“This could potentially be a magnet that encourages further illegal immigration,” he said. “Those who have been granted ‘deferred action’ status will be eligible to have their families flown to the U.S.”

According to the congressman, the CAM program may only serve to exacerbate the “significant problem” of asylum fraud that plagues the immigration system.

“Without proper safeguards in place, expanding the number of individuals who can qualify for this program will only increase the chances of asylum fraud and make it more difficult to identify those who are truly in need,” Hunter said.

Rep. Mark Takano, D-Riverside, called the Central American Minors program a means to “address the humanitarian crisis that began at our border last year.”

“This program is not amnesty,” Takano’s spokesman, Brett Morrow, told CNS. “It provides refugee and humanitarian parole status for a select few from Central American nations and allows those fleeing the awful conditions in their home countries to be treated with dignity.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, who lauded CAM and all other programs initiated by the Obama administration to address what the congressman perceived as failings in current U.S. immigration policy.

“Unfortunately, Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner has made it clear that he will not pass comprehensive immigration reform,” Ruiz said. “As a result, President Obama had no choice but to take this action.”

Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, told City News Service that the CAM program amounted to a “loophole” that “continues to make our illegal immigration problems worse, not better.”

“When you relax the enforcement of our immigration laws, you increase the incentives for people to enter our country illegally,” Calvert said. “I believe the Obama administration’s actions are an overreach of executive power afforded under the Constitution. I am hopeful our courts will put an end to the president’s unlawful actions.”

According to the State Department, minors approved for refugee status under CAM will be transported to the U.S. via flights arranged by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Each person will receive about $2,000 in immediate support and be eligible for additional “transitional benefits” provided by the Department of Health and Human Services, officials said.

http://patch.com/california/banning-...ion-program-0/

Is there anybody on the planet who does not have a sob story about why they should be granted refugee status - and all the goodies that comes with that status?

Not once has any 'Bamacrat or any member of the the Repub leadership even mentioned the plight of America's foster children. These kids typically term out of benefits at age 18. Having been bounced around from foster home to foster home, the have higher-than-normal dropout rates and mental illness. And they tend to be incarcerated at higher-than-normal rates.

I've yet to hear any of the sell outs even mention the plight of our own children.
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Hunter told CNS the CAM program, like DACA, “sends the wrong message to those who enter our country illegally.”

“This could potentially be a magnet that encourages further illegal immigration,” he said. “Those who have been granted ‘deferred action’ status will be eligible to have their families flown to the U.S.”

Rep. Hunter is exactly right, rewarding illegal immigrants will do nothing but get you more of the same! Allowing someone that came here illegally to bring someone else here legally is a reward.