Honduran consul in Charlotte says more people want to move back since Trump returned

As President Donald Trump seeks to rewrite immigration rules through executive orders, more people from Honduras and living in the Charlotte region want to go back, the local consulate reports.

They are being driven by fear, said General Consul Enrique Flores Dubón.

“Especially the (women), a lot of them are telling me that they want to go back home,” he said. “I think the biggest fear is that if ICE grabs them or something, they’re not going to have time to take the kids. So, they are thinking of the kids.”

Fewer people are coming in to the consulate office for passports, Flores said. But far more are registering their children for dual citizenship in Honduras. More are looking to move back to Honduras, too.

Before the end of February, the consulate had filled out dual citizenship paperwork for 2,000 people — about the total number in 2024. So far, four people have moved back to Honduras with the consulate’s help; zero did that last year.

The recent trend matches what Flores has heard from other Honduran diplomats around the country, he said. It’s not unique to Charlotte.

What the consulate does

Consulates provide services to a country’s citizens when they are abroad. They issue passports, for example.

“It’s the only contact that they have with the government,” Flores said.

Hondurans are the second largest Central American population in Mecklenburg County. There are more than 18,000 here.

The consulate off North Sharon Amity Road, discrete and easy to miss, shares a parking lot with a Pollo Campero restaurant. It is tucked away in a corner and looks small from the front, until one walks through a gate and to the back. Inside, its 14 employees stay busy.

A shop down the hall from the consulate sells perfume, soccer jerseys and snacks. Further in, there’s a lobby where people wait to talk to a cashier and pay for whatever they need with a money order. In other rooms, they get their pictures and fingerprints taken for documents. A storage room is filled with passports waiting to be picked up.

Early Friday morning, Flores guessed there would be 250 people before closing time — a slow day. Many pulled him aside as they waited to be called up, peppering him with questions as he moved from room to room. Two women asked him a question about getting their savings to Honduras. They, too, were worried.

Fear goes beyond consulate

Trump has tested the limits of the executive branch’s authority with a blitzkrieg of orders that challenge longstanding immigration and nationality laws.

He wants to toss out birthright citizenship, which has been guaranteed by the 14th Amendment since 1868. A judge said it was unconstitutional in January and temporarily blocked it. Other judges have reached the same conclusion so far.

“I have difficulty understanding how a member of the bar can state unequivocally that this is a constitutional order. It boggles my mind,” said United States District Court Judge John Coughenour, in Seattle. “Where were the lawyers when this decision was being made?”

Other executive orders have challenged a Jimmy Carter-era program that allows refugees into the United States, limited temporary protected status and more. Trump and his Department of Homeland Security secretary have publicized arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and said he is making America “safe again.”

Though many of the president’s policy changes are in legal limbo, fear goes beyond the consulate’s walls, Flores said.

He has noticed Honduran-owned auto shops slowing down. People do not want to go outside and be found by law enforcement in big groups, he said. Economic fear, too, is fueling people’s desire to go home, he has observed.

But Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have not bothered anyone at the consulate, he said. They come in as guests and don’t bother other visitors getting their paperwork.

He has reminded visitors: They are safe at the consulate under international law. ICE, CMPD and other agencies can not come in without permission.

Ryan Oehrli covers criminal justice in the Charlotte region for The Charlotte Observer. His work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The Observer maintains full editorial control of its journalism.

This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM.