Ending TPS for Honduras Could Put Lives in Danger

Today, the Department of Homeland Security announced the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation to Honduras, despite the country’s deep political instability since December 2017. Over 86,000 people from Honduras in the United States are protected by TPS, including mothers and fathers of more than 53,000 U.S. citizens. If forced to return, many of these people could face grave danger and persecution.

Marselha Gonçalves Margerin, advocacy director for the Americas at Amnesty International USA, issued this statement:

“The Trump administration is turning its back on thousands of families who arrived from Honduras seeking safety. Many families, including children who are U.S. citizens, could risk threats, kidnapping, gender-based violence or even death if sent to Honduras. It is heartless to offer safety to people seeking protection only to take it away and force them to return to a place where the justice system can’t deliver justice.”

Honduras is one of the countries in the Northern Triangle of Central America. It is widely recognized for violence targeting certain groups without accountability, including women and LGBTQ people, which Amnesty has documented extensively as families have left the region seeking safety.