TPS: How worried should Hondurans be?

Obviously some very bad news for Salvadorans and El Salvador this week. Christine Wade and I spoke with Peter Orsi and Freddy Cuevas of the Associated Press about what the Trump administration's decision about TPS for Salvadorans likely means for Hondurans who had recently received a six month reprieve.

“Considering how they operated the last election, I don’t think there’s any evidence whatsoever that the government there can manage the return of 50,000 or 60,000 Honduran nationals and thousands perhaps of their relatives anytime soon,” said Michael Allison, a professor of political science at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. “The country and the political and economic conditions are worse there today than in 1998 when Mitch struck.”

Even Honduras’ school system could be sorely tested by an influx of children unaccustomed to learning in a Spanish-language setting, with scarce resources available to accommodate their needs.

Allison said he expects not all 50,000 Honduran TPS recipients would return, with some likely remaining illegally and living on the margins of society, others making for Canada or another country and still others seeking residency through marriage or employer sponsorship.

But Hernandez’s government clearly sees the El Salvador decision as a harbinger and is bracing for impact.

Take a read in Honduras next in line for US decision on protected migrants.