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achieved a legal migration status, 28 percent said that they returned when they saved enough money, and 12 percent return regularly for tourism.28 Tourism is an important sector for migrants travelling back home on a regular basis and a catalyst for local economic development. Twelve percent of Hondurans living abroad travel home at least once a year.29 Hometown tourism by migrants is developing into an important sector of the economy in some places and presents another opportunity for local economic development. Hondurans travelling back over Christmas or other holidays spend an average of US$2,273 during their stay in their home country.30 It is important to note that this aspect of circular migration is limited to documented migrants. Table 1.1. Routes to Circular Migration Policy Migrant
The Usual Path: Maintaining ties to countries of origin
The Road Less Travelled: Maintaining ties to countries of destination
Permanent
Provision of return incentives
Removing disincentives to circulation: • Flexible residency and citizenship rights • Portable benefits • Accessible Information
Temporary
Restrictive temporary worker schemes
Flexible and open working arrangements: • More flexible contracts • Options of re-entry • Portability of visas • Building skills and entrepreneurship
Source: Aguinas and Newland 2007: 9.
Hondurans have become the second largest immigrant population apprehended and deported by U.S. authorities since 2000. Over 80,000 Hondurans were deported in 2006 from the United States and Mexico, and close to 70,000 in 2007. Of every 100 Hondurans who leave for the United States it is calculated that 7 percent enter regularly, 17 percent irregularly, 75 percent are deported from Mexico or the United States, and 1 percent stays in Mexico or Guatemala.31 Forty one percent of the deported migrants said they would leave Honduras several times until they reach their destination. The social and labor reintegration of deported migrants is a rising challenge for Honduras. The administration of international migration through temporary labor programs is high on the agenda of policy makers, but initiatives in Honduras are still on a small scale. The Honduran government initiated two pilot approaches in 2007/08 to facilitate the hiring of Honduran workers for temporary labor contracts. One pilot is with two Canadian business associations in the food industry; the other is based on a bilateral agreement between the Honduran and Spanish governments. The long term objective is to facilitate the annual hiring of 4,000 workers. The experience of the Guatemalan government with their IOM assisted temporary worker programs serves as a reference. A temporary worker program on a much larger scale has been negotiated between the National Industrial Association in Honduras and a business federation in California, indicating a diversification of stakeholders in circular migration schemes.
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