A planeload of U.S. deportees comprised of mothers and children returned to Honduras on Monday via a U.S.-chartered flight as the number of Central American migrants at the U.S. border surged unexpectedly in the last few months.

A total of 18 mothers and 22 children were detained in Artesia, N.M. before being flown back to Honduras, but two of them fell ill and were unable to board. The U.S. is expected to launch a series of deportation flights to Honduras in the next few days for women and children, Los Angeles Times relayed.

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Upon landing at the Ramon Villeda Morales airport, the deported women and children were welcomed by politicians, aid workers and media. The country's first lady was also there with her entourage to show support for them in spite of the government being at a loss to find a solution to this humanitarian crisis.

Some aid workers and activists said the Honduran government has turned a blind eye on the mass flight of people from their country. In addition, they criticized the federal officials' lack of a concrete plan for addressing the dilemma.

The U.S. deportees were brought to a center for processing. Aid workers gave treats and balloons to the children.

An unnamed official at the Department of Homeland Security said the flight to Honduras was directed by U.S. President Barack Obama. The official said this was just the beginning of a series of deportations because the U.S. border will not accept illegal migrants.

There was a recent surge in the number of women and children flocking to the U.S. from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. Over 57,000 of them are applying for permission to stay in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Honduran President Juan Hernandez said the U.S. drug policy is to blame for the exodus. He said the plan ignited violence in Central America, causing fearful residents to pack up and migrate to the U.S., according to an interview cited in a Reuters report.

Hernandez told Mexican newspaper Excelsior that putting a stop to the violence would decrease the number of people overwhelming the detention centers at the U.S. border. He explained that the U.S. and Colombia's anti-drugs operations were the "root cause" of the problem because they pushed the drug traffickers into Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

The Honduran leader also said Central America needs additional resources to combat drug gangs. In addition, Hernandez said Honduras deserved to receive U.S. aid similar to what Colombia and Mexico received for their anti-drug campaigns.

TagsU.S. deportees, Honduras, Illegal migration