Missouri AG Eric Schmitt joins lawsuit against Biden administration over CAM refugee and parole program

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KY3) - Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has joined a multi-state lawsuit against the Biden administration over the Central American Minors Refugee and Parole Program.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of eight attorneys general. It was announced after a border security briefing Friday from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

The program provides certain qualified children from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, as well as certain family members of those children, an opportunity to apply for refugee status and possible resettlement in the United States.

Schmitt and others involved in the lawsuit claim that there is no legal or statutory authority for people with pending asylum claims to petition the government through the CAM Program.

Arkansas, Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Montana, Oklahoma and Texas also are included in the lawsuit. Schmitt released the following statement on the lawsuit Friday:

The Missouri Attorney General's Office today filed suit against the ineffective Central American Minors program, which was unlawfully revived by the Biden Administration.https://t.co/f93v1WgTTx
— Attorney General Eric Schmitt (@AGEricSchmitt) January 28, 2022

The Obama administration implemented the CAM Program in late 2014 before the Trump administration terminated it in 2017. The Biden administration reinstated the program last March. CLICK HERE for more information on the CAM Refugee and Parole Program.

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