President of Honduras Xiomara Castro announced on Tuesday the enactment of the national emergency strategy for the protection of Honduran migrants. It includes an action program for Hondurans in an irregular migratory situation in the United States, as well as those in transit and returned to Honduras. The president attributed the worsening of displacement of people “with the implementation of a neoliberal economic model that deepened dependence, inequality, environmental degradation and violence.” She also informed that the government will be immediately sending a technical mission of verification and support to migrants on the southern border of the United States and the northern border of Mexico.
Below is a transcription of the nationally televised address.
Human mobility is a social, economic and political phenomenon that has occurred throughout the history of humanity. The displacement of people, whether within or outside our country, has worsened with the implementation of a neoliberal economic model that has deepened dependency, inequality, environmental deterioration and violence.
Public-private corruption and the hoarding of wealth are inherent to the capitalist system. My government of democratic socialism inherited a country hijacked by a national and transnational elite of public-private corruption with very high levels of indebtedness and plunder. This impoverished our country for 12 years and seven months of narco-dictatorship.
During my presidential term, deportations of Hondurans from the United States between 2000 and 2024 have decreased by at least 50%. In 2022, deportations of Hondurans from the United States were 88,000 people. In 2023 that number was 58,000 people. In 2024 that number was 44,000 people.
In 2021, apprehensions totaled 319,000 people. In 2024, according to official data from the United States Customs and Border Protection office, apprehensions were 140,000 people, which means a decrease of approximately 56%,.
It is currently estimated that there are 1.8 million Hondurans in the United States, of which we have been informed that 261,651 have a deportation order and are not in the custody of the United States immigration service. Meanwhile, 1,349 have a deportation order and are in the custody of said agency. According to official data from the Immigration and Customs Control Service, the immediate expulsion of migrants from several Latin American and Caribbean countries, including Honduras, announced by the United States, undoubtedly generates a humanitarian and economic crisis in our nation, for which urgent and comprehensive solutions were presented.
As president of Honduras, faced with drastic immigration policies, I reiterate my willingness to maintain a close dialogue with the United States of America, so that our policies of reciprocity and respect are confirmed by both nations for the benefit of our peoples.
I inform the Honduran people that I decree and promulgate the national emergency strategy for the protection of Honduran migrants, which includes an action program for the following migrant groups:
· Hondurans with an irregular immigration status in the United States
· Honduran migrants in transit
· Honduran emigrants who have returned
These emergency action programs force us to make cuts in public administration and budgetary efforts within the difficult conditions in which we find ourselves in our country. The programs include: economic and social reintegration; training; capacity building and employment opportunities; provision of credits and financing for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs; education; scholarships; validation of their studies; health; psychological and social support, especially providing protection for migrants in vulnerable status; legal assistance; family reunification; temporary shelters and hostels.
1. For Hondurans with an irregular immigration status in the United States, the priority actions will be: legal assistance and advice that will be provided to our nationals through the signing of agreements and the signing of agreements with organizations advocating for the rights of illegal migrants in the United States of America; signing of bilateral or multilateral agreements with other countries on immigration matters that promote the protection of the rights of migrants in vulnerable conditions; by enabling the migrant line through the national emergency system 911, the following service channels will be created— 911 Conecta mobile application; service channels via WhatsApp instant messaging; 24/7 telephone service through the migrant 911 line with the purpose of providing immediate guidance on legal avenues through the 911 Immigration module; primary medical psychological care through the 911 telemedicine and crisis intervention psychology units; facilitation of personal identification documents through mobile phones that urgently organize and implement the third phase in eight cities in the United States during 2025.
New consular offices according to priority needs in cities where more Hondurans reside will be created.
New offices in consular buildings will be created to increase by two-fold the issuance of passports and expedite the issuance of the national identification document (DNI).
The provision of consular appointments must be effective to facilitate the required documentation to our compatriots.
Participation of migrants in organizing a permanent dialogue through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Consular Network with the diaspora of compatriots.
For unaccompanied minor migrants, consular agents must intensify their efforts to identify and reunite them with their families in the United States.
Member institutions of the recently created Migration Governance Council will carry out a massive communication campaign on television, radio, and digital platforms, aimed at informing and protecting the rights of migrants.
2. Protection of migrants in transit: The following actions will be implemented: consular strengthening and agreements with the governments of the transit countries of Guatemala and Mexico. We will contract and, through our air force, coordinate humanitarian return flights for all Hondurans located in Mexican territory and wish to return to their homeland. We will provide legal advice through our consulates in Mexico to all of our compatriots and we will provide agreements with Mexico for their protection.
3. Returned migrants: Aware of the emergency that the new deportations announced by the United States represent, the difficulties that our migrants face, and also the responsibility that we have assumed as a State for their well-being, we announce the creation of the program “Brother and Sister Return Home.” Through this program, economic and social opportunities will be provided for the reintegration of migrants into their families, society, and their homeland. Likewise, until services are implemented, we will advocate for an orderly return that meets the conditions of dignity and security that our compatriots deserve through private flights, which the Government of Honduras is willing to finance for their return, as well as the following actions: expansion of the maximum response capacity for the care of returned migrants; providing comprehensive treatment that includes food, medical and psychological care; telephone service; hygiene kit; clothing; transportation to their place of origin; lodging; and proper care in cases of those requiring protection due to violence.
Through a bonus, I will provide each returned migrant with a stipend consisting of $100 or its equivalent in lempiras through the Red Solidaria conditional cash transfer program. We will provide a food supply of between 75 and 80 pounds to each returned migrant through the Secretariat of Social Development (SEDESOL). For returned migrants, we will facilitate the management and process of capital financing and granting of guarantees through credit agencies, which the State, via BANADESA and BANHPROVI, will also be able to join the already established program of rural and urban savings banks in their communities.
Through the SENPRENDE service program for entrepreneurs, returned migrants will be given the opportunity to access seed capital of 1,000 dollars or its equivalent in lempiras to encourage the start of successful ventures in the country. From my government of democratic socialism, I will expand the offer of jobs in infrastructure, security and the environment, the latter through the Andrés Tamayo reforestation program, a plan approved by the Defense and Security Council, Zero deforestation by 2029 and the three Green Battalions that are already operating in the country.
I will create, via executive decree, an economic incentive for the formal and informal sectors of the economy for the hiring of returned migrants, and instruct the institutions of the newly created Migration Governance Council to immediately carry out, within the next 72 hours, a technical mission to verify and support migrants on the southern border of the United States and on the northern border of Mexico.
Migrants are not criminals. They are human beings and we must treat them as such. Migrating is a human right, not a crime.
