U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar led an effort supported by 37 of his House colleagues calling on President Obama to immediately terminate the Central American Minors (CAM) Refugee/Parole Program. Thirty-seven members of the House joined Gosar in the effort including Arizona representatives Trent Franks, Matt Salmon, and David Schweikert.
Last Thursday, April 23, 2015 the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and National Interest also examined this issue in a hearing entitled Eroding the Law and Diverting Taxpayer Resources: An Examination of the Administration’s Central American Minors Refugee/Parole Program.
The Obama Administration has been taking applications for an amnesty program since December 1, 2014 that will fly illegal immigrants from Central American Countries to the U.S. for the purposes of providing an “orderly alternative to the dangerous journey that some… are currently taking to the United States.”
The Central American Minors (CAM) Refugee/Parole Program requires parolees to pay for their flights and medical care but will provide cash, loans, as well as help with travel and medical assistance to refugees participating in the program at taxpayer expense. Various media reports indicate that parolees participating in the program could include felons and immigrants that were previously deported.
Gosar called a posting on the DHS’ website shocking in which the public is advised that there is “no fee to participate in this refugee/parole program and it is prohibited for anyone to charge a fee for completion of the form.” Worse yet, an agency official indicated in a hearing last week that some CAM program participants are eligible because they have a family member living in the U.S. who was one of the beneficiaries of President Obama’s previous deferred action amnesty executive orders.
“Congress has made no new authorizations or appropriations to send planes to Central America for the purposes of flying illegal immigrants back to the U.S. Given our current national security threats and border crises, I am appalled that the administration would create and implement a new amnesty program that will incentivize further illegal immigration,” said Gosar in a statement released Monday.
“President Obama previously used executive fiat to give amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S. Now he is planning on sending planes to go and pick up their family members in Central American countries. This program is, at best, contrary to the rule of law and, at worst, unconstitutional. My colleagues and I have sent a very clear demand, calling on President Obama to immediately terminate the flawed CAM program. This program is an egregious waste of taxpayer money and sets a dangerous precedent of executive lawlessness that must be stopped,” concluded Gosar.