US-funded flight returns self-deported immigrants to Honduras

The first US-funded flight carrying Honduran immigrants returning home arrived in San Pedro Sula on Monday.

After highly-publicized migrant detentions in the US and the deportation of hundreds of migrants to a high security prison in El Salvador, the passengers had accepted an offer to self-deport in exchange for a free flight back home.

The offer has been paired with highly-publicized migrant detentions in the US and the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to a high-security prison in El Salvador.

Deputy Foreign Minister Antonio Garcia was there to meet the returning Hondurans:

"They say it's difficult, that there's a hostile atmosphere towards migrants, that they're afraid to go out to work or walk down the street, that sometimes there are raids in restaurants and workplaces. So it's a very unpleasant environment and they say: 'no, I'd rather not live like this, I'm going back to my country'."

Monday's flight carried 68 Hondurans, including four children born in the US. Twenty-six more migrants aboard the flight were headed home to Colombia

Limited appeal

Experts believe the self-deportation offer will only appeal to a small portion of migrants already considering return, but unlikely to spur high demand.

Honduras immigration director Wilson Paz says the number of Hondurans deported from the U.S. so far this year is below last year’s pace:

"I don't think it will be thousands of people who apply for the program, but we will have quite a few cases, and it is our responsibility to ensure that they arrive in an orderly fashion on charter flights, that we have the manifests in advance so that there are no delays, and that we can support them in everything they need upon arrival to the country."

The Honduran government will support the returning migrants with $100 cash and another $200 credit at a government-run store that sells basic necessities.

US President Donald Trump has promised to increase deportations substantially.