Honduran migrant sent back after spending three days in Texas

A 23-year-old farm worker from Honduras' northern coast was sent back to Central America under the new restrictions which were pushed by the United States President Donald Trump. Erwin Ardon, the first Honduran migrant reportedly spent three days at the US border city of El Paso, Texas after which he was flown to Guatemala, a so-called safe third country for people fleeing persecution. According to an international media outlet, Erwin will be returning to his home in Honduras' Colon department which is considered a dangerous area and known to be plagued by drug trafficking. 

Ardon reportedly arrived on November 22 at a centre for migrants in Omao and from there he was taken home. An international media outlet reported that Ardon was only accompanied by few US migration officials and before leaving the 23-year-old was also made to sign a piece of paper. The Guatemalan President-elect Alejandro Giammattei criticized the arrangement as wildly expensive and said that he will be reviewing the deal struck with the Trump administration. Further, the Guatemalan officials added that additional flights from the US carrying migrants are expected in the coming week, however, it is still unclear how many will make the trip. 

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New asylum policy

The US Supreme Court ordered the new rule back in September that prevented most Central American migrants from seeking asylum in the country. The new Trump Administration rule denied asylum nearly to all the migrants arriving at the southern border who are not from Mexico. Many migrants arriving were mostly fleeing from violence or poverty and upon arrival, they had to pass an interview to seek asylum in the States, which most do. But after the new policy, one might fail the interview if they have not sought asylum in another country before entering the US. 

The new policy was first unveiled in July but was immediately blocked by a lower court ruling Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco. The spokeswoman for the Homeland Security claimed that the policy would be retroactive to July 16, when the initial rule was announced. The shift reversed decades of US policy. The change affected the non-Mexican migrants who were trying to enter the US southern border. The policy also affected thousands of Central American migrants who usually travel north through Mexico. 

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