U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem met Wednesday with Honduran President Xiomara Castro to discuss security and migration, following her offer in Costa Rica to help control the entry of travelers and goods into the country. The leftist Honduran president requested an extension of TPS, a regulation that allows temporary legal stay for migrants in the U.S., which for Honduras is set to expire on July 5, according to Honduran Foreign Minister Javier Bu.
“The President […] advocated for a TPS extension for our nationals in the U.S. who have been victims of natural disasters in Honduras,” Bu told reporters. About 50,000 Hondurans currently live in the U.S. under TPS, which has been in effect for citizens of the Central American country since 1999.
“We discussed new security cooperation agreements, border security. We signed a letter of intent for a new biometric data sharing agreement,” Bu added. Noem made no public statements in Honduras, where she arrived Wednesday from Costa Rica, after meeting with Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves.
There, she offered assistance in controlling the entry of travelers and goods into Costa Rica. “We’re going to help with that […]. I believe it will be the first country in the world to fully scan every person or product entering the country,” Noem said in San José.
“We know that dangerous drugs often enter and pass through Costa Rica before reaching the United States,” she added, alongside Chaves. Neither Noem nor Chaves provided details or a timeline for the launch of this system. Noem stated the inspections would help determine “if a product is beneficial to the country or if it is linked to drug trafficking.”
Noem also explained that both countries signed an agreement for Costa Rica to join Global Entry, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program for “trusted travelers.” This program involves a background check and allows “expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States,” according to CBP’s website.
“I personally made the decision today that President [Chaves] will be the first person from Costa Rica to receive Global Entry,” Noem said. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department announced on X that 19 human traffickers were arrested in a joint operation with Costa Rica’s immigration authorities.
This “major migrant smuggling network trafficked individuals from various countries—mainly China, Vietnam, and Venezuela—to the United States,” it said. After Honduras, Noem will visit Guatemala. She began her Central American tour Tuesday in Panama.
