Quixote Center Applauds President Biden on New Family Reunification Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 12, 2023
Contact: alexandra@quixote.org | 301-699-0042
The Quixote Center celebrates the Biden administration’s creation of the Family Reunification Parole Processes for Colombians, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans with relatives in the United States. The program allows US citizens and permanent residents that have filed a visa request for their families to expedite the process. Now, once the initial petition is approved, US citizens and residents can apply for their relatives to enter the US early through humanitarian parole as they await their visas, avoiding the immense backlog.
“We applaud the Biden administration on its expansion of legal pathways,” said Quixote Executive Director Dr. Kim Lamberty. “For far too long, green card backlogs and numerical limits have subjected millions of people to years, even decades, of separation. In our partner shelters in Latin America, we encounter many migrants who have fled dangerous conditions in one of these four countries. We are hopeful that this program will provide relief to many families, and prevent them from having to undergo the deadly journey to the US-Mexico border.”
“However, while we welcome all efforts to expand safe and legal migration, they cannot attempt to replace an orderly asylum process. Our country’s asylum system remains one of the only legal pathways available to people in a state of forced migration, especially those who do not have family or resources in the United States. We encourage the Biden administration to continue its commitment to enacting policies that protect the life and dignity of all migrants.”
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The Quixote Center empowers vulnerable families and communities to become the artisans of their own destiny through transforming oppressive systems and structures. Inspired by liberation theology and Catholic Social Teaching, we do this through sustainable development, advocacy, economic justice, environmental, and educational initiatives. Our current focus is on Nicaragua and Haiti, where we support programs to empower impoverished families and communities, and support for migrants in Mexico and Central America, where we work to mitigate the damage of US immigration policies. Together with our partners, we dream of a world more justly loving.