Hundreds of Hondurans and Nicaraguans on Saturday reached the Guatemalan border but were prevented from crossing by Guatemalan security forces, the first such U.S.-bound migrant caravan to be formed this year in Central America.

Hundreds of Hondurans & Nicaraguans prevented from crossing by Guatemalan security forces

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-bound-honduran-migrant-caravan-grows-as-trump-argues-for-wall-190630">Hundreds of Hondurans</a> have set out on a trek to the United States, forming another caravan that US President Donald Trump cited Tuesday to justify building a wall on the border with Mexico.

"A big new Caravan is heading up to our Southern Border from Honduras," Trump tweeted Tuesday. "Only a Wall, or Steel Barrier, will keep our Country safe! Stop playing political games and end the Shutdown!"

As the procession left the town of San Pedro Sula under a steady rain Monday night, one of the migrants summed up their plight: "We are leaving because there is crime and no work," said Juan Garcia, 52.

Many said they had answered an anonymous social media posting referring to a January 15 <a href="http://www.wionews.com/opinions/need-to-solve-a-border-dispute-look-to-ethiopia-and-uzbekistan-188937">migrant </a>caravan leaving Honduras' second city. Most are young men, but the caravan also includes older people, including women carrying children. Some had wrapped themselves in the blue-and-white Honduran flag.

"In this country, there is nothing. Only unemployment, corruption, violence, extortion, which is why we fled the country," said Darwin Omar Reyes, 19, from the capital Tegucigalpa.

More than 500 people set out from the center of San Pedro Sula, which is 180 kilometers (110 miles) north of the capital Tegucigalpa.

It was from the same transport hub that some 2,000 Hondurans left on October 13 in the first of a series of US-bound caravans. That and other migrant flows from El Salvador and Guatemala came to total some 13,000 people.

Tougher border policies

More than half turned around and went home, eventually. Hundreds -- down from much larger numbers late last year -- remain at the Mexican border with the United States, held back by tougher border policies under Trump and support among his base for his proposed border wall.

Marlin Alcantara, 31, said from among a group of people in the back of a pick-up truck that she was fleeing domestic violence and had documentation that would support her entry to the US. She was travelling with two daughters aged nine and 13.

"My particular case is delicate. We were victims of my mother's husband. The miserable man is in prison now but it's not enough. The worst thing is that she is on his side," said Alcantara. "That's why I made the decision to go," she said.

Kevin Ramos, 18, worked at a coffee plantation in western Honduras before he was made unemployed two months ago.&nbsp;

"With God's help, we can get a job in the United States," he said. He said his father had urged him to join the caravan.

Many said they had lost hope under President Juan Orlando Hernandez. "We don't want that president, who is destroying our lives," said Javier Moran.

Hernandez's rise to power in 2014 elections provided a surge of hope for Hondurans, but Moran said that a year into his second term, that hope had dissipated.&nbsp;

Living in shelters

According to Honduras' embassy in Mexico, around 2,500 Hondurans from earlier caravans are currently living in shelters in Mexico, and that only about 3 per cent of them are likely to achieve their goal of asylum in the United States.

The Honduran foreign ministry estimates that, in all, around 13,000 Hondurans arrived in Mexico in recent months, of which around 7,200 voluntarily returned to their country after being blocked at the Mexico-US border. A total of 11 migrants had died.

The first caravan, on October 13, sparked a Twitter-borne stream of anti-migrant invective from the US president.

Trump has refused to sign off on budgets for swaths of government departments in a showdown with Democrats over funding for his border wall project, leading to the longest government shutdown in US history.

The president has made the migrant caravans one of his main targets as part of his broader anti-immigration drive in mid-term elections last November.

Hundreds of Hondurans have set out on a trek to the United States, forming another caravan that US President Donald Trump cited Tuesday to justify building a wall on the border with Mexico.

Hundreds of Hondurans have set out on a trek to the United States, forming another caravan that US President Donald Trump cited Tuesday to justify building a wall on the border with Mexico. "A big new Caravan is heading up to our Southern Border from Honduras," Trump tweeted Tuesday. "Only a Wall, or Steel Barrier, will keep our Country safe! Stop playing political games and end the Shutdown!" As the procession left the town of San Pedro Sula under a steady rain Monday night, one of the migrants summed up their plight: "We are leaving because there is crime and no work," said Juan Garcia, 52. Many said they had answered an anonymous social media posting referring to a January 15 migrant caravan leaving Honduras' second city. Most are young men, but the caravan also includes older people, including women carrying children. Some had wrapped themselves in the blue-and-white Honduran flag. "In this country, there is nothing. Only unemployment, corruption, violence, extortion, which is why we fled the country," said Darwin Omar Reyes, 19, from the capital Tegucigalpa. More than 500 people set out from the center of San Pedro Sula, which is 180 kilometers (110 miles) north of the capital Tegucigalpa. It was from the same transport hub that some 2,000 Hondurans left on October 13 in the first of a series of US-bound caravans. That and other migrant flows from El Salvador and Guatemala came to total some 13,000 people. Tougher border policies More than half turned around and went home, eventually. Hundreds -- down from much larger numbers late last year -- remain at the Mexican border with the United States, held back by tougher border policies under Trump and support among his base for his proposed border wall. Marlin Alcantara, 31, said from among a group of people in the back of a pick-up truck that she was fleeing domestic violence and had documentation that would support her entry to the US. She was travelling with two daughters aged nine and 13. "My particular case is delicate. We were victims of my mother's husband. The miserable man is in prison now but it's not enough. The worst thing is that she is on his side," said Alcantara. "That's why I made the decision to go," she said. Kevin Ramos, 18, worked at a coffee plantation in western Honduras before he was made unemployed two months ago. "With God's help, we can get a job in the United States," he said. He said his father had urged him to join the caravan. Many said they had lost hope under President Juan Orlando Hernandez. "We don't want that president, who is destroying our lives," said Javier Moran. Hernandez's rise to power in 2014 elections provided a surge of hope for Hondurans, but Moran said that a year into his second term, that hope had dissipated. Living in shelters According to Honduras' embassy in Mexico, around 2,500 Hondurans from earlier caravans are currently living in shelters in Mexico, and that only about 3 per cent of them are likely to achieve their goal of asylum in the United States. The Honduran foreign ministry estimates that, in all, around 13,000 Hondurans arrived in Mexico in recent months, of which around 7,200 voluntarily returned to their country after being blocked at the Mexico-US border. A total of 11 migrants had died. The first caravan, on October 13, sparked a Twitter-borne stream of anti-migrant invective from the US president. Trump has refused to sign off on budgets for swaths of government departments in a showdown with Democrats over funding for his border wall project, leading to the longest government shutdown in US history. The president has made the migrant caravans one of his main targets as part of his broader anti-immigration drive in mid-term elections last November.

Hondurans form a new US-bound caravan, drawing fire from Trump

The Trump administration said on Friday it will end temporary protections for immigrants in the United States from Honduras on Jan&nbsp;5, 2020, leaving potentially 57,000 people vulnerable to deportation.

It is the latest in a series of decisions by President Donald Trump to shut down temporary protected status (TPS) granted to immigrants after natural disasters or violent conflicts that would prevent them from safely returning to their home countries.

The government of Honduras said on Friday that it "profoundly regrets the cancellation of the programme" and pledged free legal and consular support for Hondurans living in the United States.

Marlon Tabora, the Honduras ambassador to the United States, said the conditions did not exist in the Central American country to deal with the repatriation of tens of thousands of people.

"These families have lived in the United States for 20 years and re-integrating them into the country will not be easy if they decide to return," he said.

After El Salvador, Hondurans are the second largest nationality with TPS to lose their status, which was granted to the country in 1999 following the devastation of Hurricane Mitch.

The government said it had conducted a review and found "conditions in Honduras that resulted from the hurricane have notably improved." The 18-month timeline to end the programme would allow "individuals with TPS to arrange for their departure or to seek an alternative lawful immigration," the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

The Boston-based Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice said later on Friday that it would amend a legal complaint filed in February to include the Hondurans affected. The original complaint challenged the Trump administration's decision to terminate a similar programme protecting immigrants from Haiti and El Salvador.

In January, the Trump administration ended TPS classification for some 200,000 Salvadorans, who had been allowed to live and work in the United States since 2001. Their status will expire in 2019.

The administration also recently ended the programme for Nepal.

TPS critics complain that repeated extensions in six- to 18-month increments of the status, sometimes for decades, has given beneficiaries de facto residency in the United States.

In November, then-acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke set a deadline of six months to make a decision about TPS for Honduras, which is one of the most violent countries in the Western Hemisphere and recently has been convulsed by protests following a contested presidential election. Duke is no longer in charge, replaced by Kirstjen Nielsen.

Most of the other countries that have come up for TPS review have had the status terminated, except for Syria, which is in the midst of a devastating war.

Canada has become the target of choice for those who fear deportation from the United States. Last year, almost 10,000 Haitians crossed the border illegally amid fears their US&nbsp;temporary protected status might end.

Canadian Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said Hondurans had until 2020 to decide what to do, meaning it was unlikely people would rush north.

"I don't believe we will see that wave of individuals coming to Canada," he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

The decisions on TPS are upending the lives of people who have settled in the United States, sometimes for decades, according to immigration advocates.

"They have made enormous contributions to this nation as workers, small-business owners, homeowners, parents of US&nbsp;citizens and community members," said Frank Sharry, executive director at the Washington-based America's Voice Education Fund.

Some Democratic lawmakers decried the decision and said Congress should act to pass legislation that would allow long-time TPS holders to remain in the United States.

Karen Valladares, the director of the National Forum for Migration, a non-governmental organisation in Honduras, said people continue to leave because of gang and drug-related violence and lack of economic opportunities.

"There have not been concrete improvements in the security situation," Valladares said. In some ways, she added, "Honduras is worse off than when they left."

It is the latest in a series of decisions by President Donald Trump to shut down temporary protected status (TPS) granted to immigrants

The Trump administration said on Friday it will end temporary protections for immigrants in the United States from Honduras on Jan 5, 2020, leaving potentially 57,000 people vulnerable to deportation. It is the latest in a series of decisions by President Donald Trump to shut down temporary protected status (TPS) granted to immigrants after natural disasters or violent conflicts that would prevent them from safely returning to their home countries. The government of Honduras said on Friday that it "profoundly regrets the cancellation of the programme" and pledged free legal and consular support for Hondurans living in the United States. Marlon Tabora, the Honduras ambassador to the United States, said the conditions did not exist in the Central American country to deal with the repatriation of tens of thousands of people. "These families have lived in the United States for 20 years and re-integrating them into the country will not be easy if they decide to return," he said. After El Salvador, Hondurans are the second largest nationality with TPS to lose their status, which was granted to the country in 1999 following the devastation of Hurricane Mitch. The government said it had conducted a review and found "conditions in Honduras that resulted from the hurricane have notably improved." The 18-month timeline to end the programme would allow "individuals with TPS to arrange for their departure or to seek an alternative lawful immigration," the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. The Boston-based Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice said later on Friday that it would amend a legal complaint filed in February to include the Hondurans affected. The original complaint challenged the Trump administration's decision to terminate a similar programme protecting immigrants from Haiti and El Salvador. In January, the Trump administration ended TPS classification for some 200,000 Salvadorans, who had been allowed to live and work in the United States since 2001. Their status will expire in 2019. The administration also recently ended the programme for Nepal. TPS critics complain that repeated extensions in six- to 18-month increments of the status, sometimes for decades, has given beneficiaries de facto residency in the United States. In November, then-acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke set a deadline of six months to make a decision about TPS for Honduras, which is one of the most violent countries in the Western Hemisphere and recently has been convulsed by protests following a contested presidential election. Duke is no longer in charge, replaced by Kirstjen Nielsen. Most of the other countries that have come up for TPS review have had the status terminated, except for Syria, which is in the midst of a devastating war. Canada has become the target of choice for those who fear deportation from the United States. Last year, almost 10,000 Haitians crossed the border illegally amid fears their US temporary protected status might end. Canadian Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said Hondurans had until 2020 to decide what to do, meaning it was unlikely people would rush north. "I don't believe we will see that wave of individuals coming to Canada," he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. The decisions on TPS are upending the lives of people who have settled in the United States, sometimes for decades, according to immigration advocates. "They have made enormous contributions to this nation as workers, small-business owners, homeowners, parents of US citizens and community members," said Frank Sharry, executive director at the Washington-based America's Voice Education Fund. Some Democratic lawmakers decried the decision and said Congress should act to pass legislation that would allow long-time TPS holders to remain in the United States. Karen Valladares, the director of the National Forum for Migration, a non-governmental organisation in Honduras, said people continue to leave because of gang and drug-related violence and lack of economic opportunities. "There have not been concrete improvements in the security situation," Valladares said. In some ways, she added, "Honduras is worse off than when they left."

Trump administration moves to expel some 57,000 Hondurans

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