By JOSH LEDERMAN
Associated Press

(WASHINGTON, AP) — The Obama administration is expanding a program to let would-be migrants from Central America apply for refugee status before they attempt to come to the U.S.

The U.S. will work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office, which will conduct initial screenings to see whether migrants may qualify as refugees.

The program envisions moving applicants into safe zones to await processing. That’s according to an administration official who asked for anonymity because the program hasn’t been formally announced. Secretary of State John Kerry will announce the program in a speech Wednesday.

The official says the program will target migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. A surge of unaccompanied minors and others fleeing violence in those countries prompted a crisis on the Southwest border in 2014.