Honduran Americans

In response to poverty and natural disaster in their country of origin, an estimated 315,000 Honduran migrants have arrived in the United States seeking to build a new life. Hondurans form the third-largest group of Central Americans in the United States. They have employed a variety of strategies to improve their economic status and maintain community and family ties.

Honduras, a nation estimated in 2007 to have 7.1 million people, avoided the civil warfare that devastated its Central American neighbors during the 1970s and 1980s. Structural inequalities and deep poverty, however, have been persistent facets of Honduran nationhood. The Honduran economy has historically centered on the export of coffee and bananas and has been highly dependent on U.S. capital. During the early 20th century, U.S. banana companies owned most of the land in northern Honduras and were powerful political and economic actors. Links to the United States further deepened during the 1980s when Honduras became a staging [Page 647]ground for U.S. counterinsurgency operations in the region. Such cultural and economic penetration of the United States was an important factor that primed migration to the United States. In addition, although civilian rule was restored to Honduras in 1982, human rights abuses persisted and contributed to out-migration.

Most scholars believe, however, that the great majority of Hondurans have migrated to the United States for economic reasons, forming important communities in the Bronx, New York, Houston, Texas, and elsewhere. Estimates rank Honduras as the fifth-largest sending country of undocumented migrants with 138,000 in the United States. Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, and more than half of Hondurans live below the poverty line. The poor of Honduras received a further blow in 1998 when Hurricane Mitch struck. More than 7,000 people were killed and 1 million were left homeless. Economic damage totaled $3 billion, and numerous jobs were lost. Following Hurricane Mitch, the U.S. government extended temporary protected status to many of the Hondurans who had entered the United States illegally but could not easily return to their country of origin because of the devastating impact of the hurricane.

Arriving in the United States, Hondurans have sought employment in factories, agriculture, the hospitality and care industries, and commercial cleaning. Upward economic mobility of Hondurans in the United States is closely linked to their means of incorporation into the economy, legal status, caretaking responsibilities, and levels of formal education and English. In addition, structural inequalities often trap migrants in low-skilled, low-wage jobs. Employment of Hondurans is also characterized by unstable work hours, migration-related debt, job insecurity, and conflicts with family obligations. Patriarchal household norms further limit women's job opportunities.

Despite these obstacles, Hondurans continue to strive and are able to send approximately $1 billion as remittances back to their country of origin, providing 15% of Honduras's gross domestic product. Honduran family and social structures have been strained by separation of parents and children and by competition for scarce resources. However, women in particular have formed networks for economic, domestic, and emotional support. Hondurans remain hopeful that they will be able to build a better life for themselves and their children in the United States.

...