White House says deportation flight to Honduras a 'signal'

WASHINGTON: The White House said Tuesday that the deportation of 40 women and children to Honduras was a sign that illegal immigrants would not be welcomed with "open arms" amid a border crisis.

The immigrants, sent home from a holding facility in New Mexico on Monday, became a high profile symbol of the Obama administration's efforts to stem a tide of minors crossing into the United States from Central America.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the flight should serve as a clear signal to parents in Central America considering sending their children on the hazardous journey north that their offspring would not be welcomed with "open arms."

Earnest said the move was a "reflection of the effort that this administration has made to increase the resources that are used to deal with this surge that we've seen in recent days."

Obama has asked Congress for $3.7 billion in emergency funding to deal with the building crisis that has seen 57,000 unaccompanied minors, some fleeing violence, poverty and persecution at home, cross the southwestern US border since October.