Nonprofit hopes to reunite Central American kids with families in Atlanta

April 8th, 2023

In this June 26, 2019 file photo, migrant children walk with their families along the Rio Grande, as pedestrian commuters use the Puerta Mexico bridge to enter Brownsville, Texas, seen from Matamoros, Tamaulipas state, Mexico. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

Parents and guardians from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras who have immigrated or were resettled in metro Atlanta might be able to bring their children to Georgia with refugee status.

It’s through the Central American Minor Program — a federal pathway for safe resettlement of kids.

“There are so many root causes for migration from Central America to the United States,” said Laura Just, the Director of Legal Protection at the nonprofit Kids in Need of Defense (KIND). “It is a very dangerous journey. There are a lot of people out there who are exploiting people who are desperate enough to make it.”

KIND partners with the International Rescue Committee to help families through the application process. Just says there are likely families in the Atlanta area who might not know they qualify for the program.

The American Immigration Council says 4% of immigrants in Georgia are from Guatemala alone.