I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5141 

To provide for the termination of the Central American Minors Refugee/ 

Parole Program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 29, 2016 

Mr. GOSAR (for himself, Mr. BABIN, Mr. BARLETTA, Mrs. BLACK, Mr. BRAT, 

Mr. BROOKS of Alabama, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. HUELSKAMP, Mr. JONES, Mr. 

KING of Iowa, Mr. MARCHANT, Mr. MICA, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. ROGERS

of Alabama, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. SALMON, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. 

WEBER of Texas, and Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for the termination of the Central American 

Minors Refugee/Parole Program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Central American Amnesty Termination Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) On December 1, 2014, in the face of serious 

2 national security threats, and despite vigorous oppo3 sition from the Congress, the Obama Administration 

4 began accepting applications for a new program 

5 known as the ‘‘Central American Minors (CAM) 

6 Refugee/Parole Program’’ (the ‘‘CAM program’’). 

7 (2) Article 1, section 8, of the Constitution 

8 gives the Congress clear jurisdiction on immigration 

9 matters, and the unilateral creation of the CAM pro10 gram by executive action clearly infringes on that 

11 authority. 

12 (3) Under the CAM program, the Obama Ad13 ministration allows illegal aliens from 3 Central 

14 American countries to fly to the United States and 

15 be admitted into the United States. 

16 (4) In a December 17, 2015, letter to multiple 

17 Members of the Congress, U.S. Citizenship and Im18 migration Services Director Leon Rodriquez ac19 knowledged that the agency does not systematically 

20 track whether CAM program applicants previously 

21 have been removed from the United States or had 

22 prior felony convictions. 

23 (5) The December 2015 letter also revealed 

24 that certain CAM program beneficiaries are immeVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:03 May 05, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5141.IH H5141

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1 diately eligible to work and obtain legal status in the 

2 United States. 

3 (6) Under the CAM program, certain bene4 ficiaries are eligible ultimately to obtain permanent 

5 residence and are immediately eligible for certain 

6 taxpayer-funded Federal benefits. 

7 (7) Under the CAM program, certain bene8 ficiaries are able to pursue citizenship in the United 

9 States after 5 years of permanent residence. 

10 (8) The CAM program provides cash, loans for 

11 flights to North America, reimbursements for DNA 

12 testing, and medical assistance. 

13 (9) The CAM program also waives certain fees 

14 for participating beneficiaries, which fees are re15 quired to be paid by potential legal immigrants who 

16 wish to enter this country in accordance with our 

17 laws. 

18 (10) The Department of State reported in April 

19 2016, that 8,001 aliens from 3 Central American 

20 countries have applied to be admitted to the United 

21 States under the CAM program, and that 197 par22 ents and children already have been admitted under 

23 the program. 

24 (11) The December 2015 letter also stated that 

25 at least 16 parents who completed an Affidavit of 


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1 Relationship under the CAM program were Deferred 

2 Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, 

3 and indicated that the program plans eventually to 

4 accept applications from the Deferred Action for 

5 Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Resi6 dents (DAPA) program. 

7 (12) DACA and DAPA were both created by 

8 the Obama Administration through unconstitutional 

9 executive action. An injunction to stop the creation 

10 of DAPA and the expansion of DACA was upheld by 

11 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

12 (13) The Associated Press recently obtained in13 formation through a Freedom of Information Act re14 quest that revealed that, of the 71,000 unaccom15 panied alien minors placed with sponsors in the 

16 United States from February 2014 to September 

17 2015, most of whom were from Central America, 80 

18 percent were placed with illegal immigrants living in 

19 the United States. 

20 (14) U.S. Customs and Border Protection re21 ports that 141,192 unaccompanied alien minors 

22 from Central American countries were apprehended 

23 by the United States Border Patrol from October 1, 

24 2008, through February 29, 2016. 


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1 (15) Total U.S. Customs and Border apprehen2 sion on the southwest border increased 28 percent in 

3 March 2016 compared to the previous year, with 

4 33,335 total Border Patrol apprehensions, 4,201 of 

5 which were unaccompanied alien minors, and 4,448 

6 of which were members of family units traveling to7 gether. 

8 (16) In an April 2015 hearing, the Sub9 committee on Immigration and the National Interest 

10 of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary heard im11 portant testimony on the CAM program. 

12 (17) Testimony from officials within the Obama 

13 Administration at the April 2015 hearing purported 

14 that the CAM program would assist with reducing 

15 the surge of unaccompanied alien minors on our 

16 southwest border. 

17 (18) Testimony at the April 2015 hearing re18 vealed that the CAM program will impose significant 

19 costs on taxpayers and State and local governments. 

20 (19) Testimony at the April 2015 hearing 

21 found that the CAM program is not a true refugee 

22 program, but rather is primarily an end-run around 

23 the law to create a new admissions program for alien 

24 families from 3 Central American countries in order 


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1 to unite them with other illegal aliens residing in the 

2 United States. 

3 (20) The April hearing also revealed that the 

4 CAM program has contributed to the surge of unac5 companied alien minors flooding the United States, 

6 as the program provides an incentive for further ille7 gal immigration. 

8 (21) The CAM program has been a failure and 

9 has not helped reduce the surge of unaccompanied 

10 alien minors on our southwest border. 

11 SEC. 3. CERTAIN ACTIVITIES PROHIBITED. 

12 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds, 

13 resources, or fees made available to the Secretary of 

14 Homeland Security, or to any other official of a Federal 

15 agency, by any Act for any fiscal year, including any de16 posits into the ‘‘Immigration Examinations Fee Account’’ 

17 established under section 286(m) of the Immigration and 

18 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)), may be used to im19 plement, administer, or carry out the Central American 

20 Minors Refugee/Parole Program, or any successor pro21 gram. 

Æ 


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