Mexico and Central America Thank Obama for Amnesty Decree

The presidents of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, the leading source countries of illegal immigrants in the United States, hailed Obama’s executive decree to stop the deportation of many of their compatriots.

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Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are the top four countries where the majority of illegal aliens in the United States originate, according to the latest DHS estimate of the unauthorized immigrant population living in the U.S. The DHS data is consistent with most recent estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center.

About 73 percent of the estimated 11.4 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. were born in Mexico (6.7 million), El Salvador (690,000), Guatemala (560,000), and Honduras (360,000), DHS data shows.

Many of the governments of those nations used the word “relief” in welcoming President Obama’s executive order and none mentioned any efforts to try to keep their citizens from leaving. Breitbart News reported that illegal aliens from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are sending billions back in remittances to their home countries. The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that remittances to Mexico are in the billions as well.

Obama’s executive action shows appreciation for “the great contributions of millions of Mexicans to the development of the neighboring country of North America,” Enrique Peña Nieto, Mexico’s president, said in Spanish, reports Spanish-language wire service Agencia EFE.

“These measures are a relief for migrants, especially of Mexican origin, [and] are the most important that have been taken [by the U.S.] in several decades, virtually in the last 30 years,” he added.

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“The Government of El Salvador, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expresses its satisfaction at the announcement made this November 20 by the President of United States of America, Barack Obama, on executive action to be implemented for the benefit of millions of undocumented immigrants who are in that nation,” wrote Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez in a statement in Spanish entitled “El Salvador is Pleased With the Immigration Relief Measure Announced by the U.S.”

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“President Otto Perez Molina expressed his satisfaction with the immigration policy measures taken by the U.S. government, which would favor thousands of Guatemalans with a temporary permission to stay in that country,” said the presidential office of Guatemala in a statement in Spanish.

Perez Molina estimated that as many as 100,000 Guatemalans could benefit from Obama’s immigration decree.

An estimated five percent of the illegal immigrants in the U.S are from Guatemala, making that country the third leading source of unauthorized aliens.

“The government of Honduras welcomes the announcement of U.S. President, Barack Obama, to generate a relief to some five million undocumented immigrants living in the [U.S.] . . . which will benefit hundreds of thousands of Hondurans,” said the presidential office in Honduras in a statement in Spanish.

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Hondurans make up nearly three percent of the illegal immigrant population. Honduras and El Salvador urged Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

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