The woman 's eyes were swollen and red after she got off a plane in this violence-plagued Central American city Monday . She told CNN she 'd cried the whole way on the flight from New Mexico . Her 6-year-old daughter was beside her . They were among a group of about 40 mothers and children deported from the United States to Honduras on a chartered flight Monday -- the first group of Central Americans sent home under stepped-up U.S. efforts to crack down on illegal immigration . Asked about their journey to the United States , her 6-year-old daughter described the dangerous trek north in vivid detail : Stowing away on freight trains . Walking through a forest at night . Seeing monkeys and snakes . Despite the dangers , her mother told CNN she 'll probably make the trek again . There is nothing left for them in Honduras , she said . Officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security displayed similar resolve Monday , saying the flight was a sign of future deportations . `` Our border is not open to illegal migration and we will send recent illegal migrants back , '' the department said in a statement . `` We expect additional migrants will be returned to Honduras , Guatemala and El Salvador in the coming days and weeks . '' The group deported Monday had recently crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and had been held in a new temporary immigrant detention facility that opened up in Artesia , New Mexico , late last month , Homeland Security officials said . In the Artesia facility , which can house up to 700 people and had about 400 within its confines Friday , officials say undocumented immigrants will be held until their legal cases are decided . The goal , officials said last week , is to process their cases in two to four days . Video conferences with judges have helped speed up the process , officials said . Before the facility opened up , groups of women with children from Central America were released on parole , dropped off at bus stations throughout the Southwest and told to report to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Offices across the country in about a month . After meeting with House Democrats on Monday , Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said authorities are building additional detention centers to house adults traveling with children . Officials are working to correct misinformation from smugglers , who 've claimed that there are `` free passes '' for those coming to the United States . `` Beginning this week , we are sending family units back to Central America , so the message is 'We will send you back , ' `` he said . The plane arrived Monday afternoon in San Pedro Sula , where violence has earned the city a reputation as the world 's murder capital . There were 18 mothers and 22 children on the plane that arrived in Honduras on Monday , first lady Ana Garcia de Hernandez told reporters , according to CNN affiliate Televicentro . The youngest child on the plane was just months old , she said , while the oldest one was 15 or 16 . She called for Hondurans to chip in to help the returning families and said officials were developing plans to better support them . `` These are people with dreams , with illusions , and who come ( back ) in very difficult conditions , who are seeing that their dreams were not made a reality , seeing their aspirations frustrated . Many of them return empty-handed , '' she said . `` And the only thing they have are debts to pay because before leaving , they got rid of everything they had . '' Hernandez , who spoke as busloads of Honduran children sent back from Mexico also were expected to arrive , said she was concerned that children were being deported . `` Clearly it worries us , '' she said , `` because we have always spoken about ensuring the best interests of the children . '' Sor Valdette Willeman , who heads the Honduran government 's program for returning migrants , says there 's no second flight of families deported from the United States scheduled yet , but officials are expecting more to come soon . Already , flights packed with Honduran adults deported from the United States arrive daily , she said . She said that she expected the children to arrive in good condition and that the United States has been doing everything possible to care for them and treat them in a dignified manner . President Obama has asked Congress for $ 3.7 billion in emergency funds to fortify the U.S. Border Patrol and strengthen other programs for dealing with those crossing into the United States illegally as a surge of Central American women and children arrive on America 's doorstep . But the Republican-led House is not expected to move fast on the measure and does n't want to give Obama everything he wants . Some say tweaking a 2008 law combating immigrant trafficking might be enough to stem the flow . The White House has called the situation a `` humanitarian crisis . '' Republicans prefer to call it one of the Obama administration 's making , and blame it for not being prepared and for an underwhelming response .
A deported Honduran woman says she may head back to the United States . 40 people were deported from the United States to Honduras on Monday . It 's part of stepped - up U.S. efforts to send recent undocumented immigrants back . Honduran first aid says devastated families are left empty - handed .