Immigration Reform News 2014: 40 Undocumented Immigrants Returned to Honduras
Undocumented immigrants, both adults and children, were sent back to Honduras from the U.S. after obtaining illegal entry into the country, according to a report from Fox News.
The deportation came as the U.S. is facing what some have called a crisis at the border, when close to 100,000 immigrants have come into the U.S. from Central America since October.
The 40 that were sent back to Honduras had been held at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico. They were caught at the border.
As the immigrants touched down in Honduras, U.S. officials said that this was a move in the right direction.
"As President (Barack) Obama, the vice president, and (Department of Homeland Security) Secretary (Jeh) Johnson have said, our border is not open to illegal migration and we will send recent illegal migrants back," Homeland Security said in a written statement.
Politicians have been trading jabs over the immigration issue, but even as 40 were returned to their country, somewhere around 82,000 undocumented immigrants remain in the country. Of those, about 57,000 are children. Many of the immigrants have said they came to the U.S. to escape atrocities in their home countries.
"We expect additional migrants will be returned to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador in the coming days and weeks," Homeland Security officials told NBC News.
U.S. Immigration officials say the spike in Central American immigration has been fueled by a rumor that there was a June deadline by which they would be allowed to stay in the U.S. legally.
The issue even has reached a head in Honduras, where last week President Juan Orlando Hernandez declared a humanitarian emergency and said he would start funding programs to reintegrate deported children back into society.
On arrival in Honduras, immigration officials review documents of the deported before they get off the plane. After being screened, they go to a processing center, where they are given their possessions.
Adults are able to meet with representatives who help find them employment, while children are reconnected with family remaining in the country.
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