Women’s Refugee Commission Responds to White House Agreement with Honduras

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Trump administration late yesterday reached an agreement with Honduras that would require migrants and asylum seekers on their way to the Unites States – and passing through Honduras – to stay in that country and seek asylum. This is the third such agreement the Trump administration has made with a Central American country to prevent those fleeing violence from reaching the U.S. Earlier this year, Trump signed similar agreements with El Salvador and Guatemala.

Yesterday’s announcement has migrant and refugee rights advocates particularly concerned as Honduras – a country plagued by crime and violence – is subject to a Level 3 State Department Travel Advisory. Level 4 is “Do Not Travel” status.

In response to this action by the Trump administration, Michelle Brané, senior director of the Migrant Rights and Justice program at the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC), issued the following statement.

“The Women's Refugee Commission condemns the U.S. government for sending women and girls to a region that registers one of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world, including femicides. In gang-controlled areas, women and girls face sexual exploitation and are often coerced into becoming a male gang member’s partner. The protection risks that women and girls face in Central America are exacerbated by impunity for perpetrators within their countries.

“Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador are countries that do not have the capacity to safeguard the security and well-being of people in need of international protection. The U.S. is returning asylum seekers to countries that are not able to protect their own citizens or grant them access to basic services. This is just the latest attempt by the administration to block access to protection, instead returning asylum seekers to countries where they are at risk of harm or death.”

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