US embassy cable - 05TEGUCIGALPA1992

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 001992 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA DAS FISK AND WHA/CEN 
STATE FOR PRM, INL/LP, DRL/PHD, G/TIP, CA/P, AND DS 
DHS FOR SBI (SHIFFMAN) AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (ARCOS) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, SMIG, ASEC, PGOV, KCRM, HO 
SUBJECT: HONDURAN MINISTERS DEMARCHED ON DEPORTATION PLAN; 
GOH SUPPORTIVE OF U.S. REQUESTS AND SEEKS DHS ASSISTANCE 
 
REF: A. STATE 176485 
 
     B. ZIFF/WILLIARD/OLSEN E-MAILS 9/19-26/05 
     C. FISK/SHIFFMAN E-MAIL 09/07/05 
     D. FISK/WILLIARD/OLSEN/MCCARTHY E-MAILS 9/2-7/05 
     E. TEGUCIGALPA 826 (ALL NOTAL) 
 
1. (SBU) Charge, Acting DCM, Consul General, and PolChief met 
September 26 with Minister of the Presidency Ramon Medina 
Luna, Minister of Government and Justice Jose Pacheco, Acting 
Foreign Minister Juan Alberto Lara Bueso, and Commissioner 
for Hondurans Overseas AMB Rene Becerra to deliver ref A 
demarche on changes in deportation and immigration.  (Post's 
DHS/ICE Attache was in the U.S. for an official trip and 
unable to attend the meeting.)  Charge delivered the talking 
points, emphasizing the need for a switch from "catch and 
release" to "catch and deport."  EmbOffs highlighted the 
current backlog of 1,300 Hondurans awaiting deportation and 
the estimated 200 Hondurans per day apprehended at the border. 
 
2. (SBU) The GOH response was positive, helped by the fact 
that AMB Becerra was very familiar with the issue.  Becerra 
highlighted the digital video conferencing (DVC) that the GOH 
is pioneering to interview potential deportees, and Charge 
thanked the GOH for that initiative. 
 
3. (SBU) GOH officials noted concern about possible 
deportations of Hondurans in the New Orleans area, and 
reiterated their September 19 request to DHS for a statement 
by DHS clarifying that the USG was not conducting a roundup 
of illegal aliens in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and 
Rita.  The Charge agreed to issue an Embassy statement along 
those lines as soon as possible.  (Note:  The Embassy is 
working with WHA/CEN and the DHS Office of International 
Affairs to coordinate such a statement.  End Note.) 
 
4. (SBU) Medina Luna asked specifically what the USG needed 
from the GOH.  EmbOffs reiterated that the USG needed the GOH 
to: 
- grant DHS permission for the Justice Prisoner and Alien 
Transportation System (JPATS) deportation flights to land at 
San Pedro Sula in addition to Tegucigalpa and permission to 
land any day of the week, not only weekdays; and 
- continue cooperating with DHS on expedited issuance of 
travel documents for deportees. 
 
EmbOffs noted that DHS could always increase deportations by 
commercial flights but preferred to do most by JPATS flights 
for various reasons.  GOH officials agreed that JPATS flights 
were preferable to larger numbers of deportees arriving by 
commercial air. 
 
5. (SBU) Medina Luna agreed to both requests, and asked 
MinGov Pacheco to be point person on the issue of permission 
for JPATS flights landing at San Pedro Sula and on weekdays, 
noting that Pacheco would need to research the issue quickly 
before granting this permission.  Pacheco said he would get 
back to the Embassy in a week or so.  Medina Luna asked AMB 
Becerra, in coordination with the Foreign Ministry, Honduran 
Ambassador to the U.S. Norman Garcia, and Honduran consulates 
in the U.S., to continue working closely with the USG, 
especially DHS, on DVCs for deportees and expedited issuance 
of travel documents. 
 
6. (SBU) MinGov Pacheco noted that an extremely tight 
Immigration budget could limit GOH assistance to deportation 
flights.  Specifically, Pacheco noted that the two Centers 
for Returned Migrants had exhausted their budgets.  DHS 
financial support, not only for bus fare from San Pedro Sula 
to Tegucigalpa, but also if possible for other aspects of the 
Centers' work, especially given potential expansion to San 
Pedro Sula, would be of critical assistance. 
 
7. (U) Comment:  Honduran Immigration has repeatedly 
requested and Post has sought State/Bureau of Population, 
Refugees, and Migration (PRM) funding for Centers for 
Returned Migrants (run by Catholic nuns) in Tegucigalpa and 
San Pedro Sula.  PRM previously allowed the International 
Organization for Migration (IOM) to fund these centers, using 
reprogrammed PRM money which has now run out.  The money 
never went through Honduran Immigration, but rather from PRM 
to IOM to the NGO.  The centers put a humane face on 
repatriations, help deportees return to their homes of origin 
(instead of just leaving them in Tegucigalpa), provide job 
counseling, and help the GOH manage the flow of deportees, 
which aides in addressing the gang issue.  Post requests that 
DHS provide funding to these centers, in addition to bus fare 
from San Pedro Sula to Tegucigalpa, to help facilitate the 
expansion of JPATS flights to San Pedro Sula. 
 
8. (U) Comment continued: Post also reiterates the request in 
ref E for DHS to reinstate funding for the DHS/ICE Program 
for the Return of Third Country National (TCN) Migrants 
Intercepted in the Latin America & Caribbean Region (Project 
057).  As the USG pushes for increased cooperation from 
Central American countries, Post believes now is the time for 
DHS to resume funding for a cost-effective program that will 
help reduce the number of illegal TCN migrants trying to 
reach the U.S. from Central America.  End Comment. 
 
Williard