On a visit to an immigrant detention facility in McAllen, Texas, on Monday, Honduras' first lady urged her country's citizens to stop trying to enter the United States illegally.
Ana Garcia Carias, wife of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, promised to seek solutions within Honduras, saying, "Stay in the country and let's look for solutions to support you."
Nearly one quarter of the 40,810 unaccompanied minors who crossed into the U.S. in 2017 came from Honduras. This is not the first time Garcia Carias has visited a facility, and she spoke with Hondurans who had fled their home country, asking their reasons for doing so.
More than 60 percent of the population of Honduras was living in poverty as of 2016, according to The World Bank. Political turmoil and an enormous gang presence have driven the country's homicide rate to one of the highest in the world.
But Garcia Carias said on Monday that they could do better to keep their youth home, saying that "More jobs, more education, better infrastructure and the safety of all is a priority for the government."
The comments from Garcia Carias will likely be welcomed by President Donald Trump, who threatened to stop sending U.S. aid to Honduras in April over the massive caravan of immigrants that traveled into Mexico on their way to crossing the U.S. border. Many of the roughly 1,000 caravan members were reportedly Honduran.
In May, Trump removed the Temporary Protection Status of 57,000 Hondurans living in the US, telling them to leave or to face deportation. The president has made a series of threats and measures aimed at deterring illegal immigrants from seeking asylum in the United States.
But doubts have been raised about how much influence the Honduran president or first lady might have over their citizens. Human rights lawyer and Honduran security expert Joaquin Mejia told The Huffington Post, "Honduras was on fire and the [country's recent] election crisis threw gasoline on it.
"It unmasked the reality of the country — our institutions are broken and the president, because of the elections, has no legitimacy."
Breck Dumas
