ALT TEXT
Dilma and her family, restored
Photo: Nodira Artikova

Dilmia R. had built a home for herself and her two young daughters in her native El Salvador when the threat of violence forced her to flee in 2011. Unable to bring her children along due to the risks involved, Dilmia placed them in the safe care of their grandmother. After her eventual arrival in the United States, Dilmia was pained to be without her family and longed for them to be reunited. The Immigration Services staff of the IRC in Atlanta assisted her in filing an application in April 2015 to bring her daughters to the U.S. through the recently launched Central American Minors (CAM) Program.

Created by the federal government in December 2014, the CAM program allows refugee parents who are in the country lawfully to apply to have their children residing in El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras reunited with them in the United States. The application and evaluation process is lengthy, involving DNA tests, security checks, and multiple interviews, but after a year-long wait, the IRC finally received word that Dilmia’s daughters had been approved.

Dilmia was there to see her children arrive on U.S. soil for the first time on April 5, 2016, at the Atlanta airport. Finally together again, she was overjoyed. “My daughters and I want to thank the IRC for all the help you provided during the CAM process,” Dilmia said. “The truth is that I don’t have enough words to truly thank you, and may God bless you and allow you to keep helping people who need it.”

Today, Dilmia and her daughters are eager to begin building their American dream. They have enrolled in an English literacy program at one of Atlanta’s local colleges, and one of her daughters has even started a part-time job as a supermarket cashier.

To learn more about the immigration services offered by the IRC in Atlanta, please contact Hayat Ahmed, Community Integration Manager at 678 636 8920. To learn more about the work of the IRC in Atlanta and for information on how you can get involved with the IRC as a donor or volunteer, please contact Justin Howell, Development Manager at 678 636 8929.

Stay connected to the IRC in Atlanta! Like us on Facebook and follow us for announcements and upcoming events!