Christmas In Bethlehem, Honduras Election Result, Immigration Crackdown

Summary

Up First from NPR — Episode Summary

Date: December 25, 2025
Episode Title: Christmas In Bethlehem, Honduras Election Result, Immigration Crackdown
Host: Layla Fadel

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Overview

This Christmas Day episode of NPR’s Up First brings focused reporting on three pressing stories: the return of Christmas festivities in Bethlehem amid the ongoing war in Gaza, the contentious presidential election in Honduras, and the social and economic fallout from a year of record U.S. immigration enforcement.

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1. Christmas in Bethlehem: Resilience Amid Conflict

Segment Start: 03:15

Scene Setting

• After two years of suspension due to the war in Gaza, Christmas celebrations returned to Bethlehem, located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
• Hadil El Shalchi describes a vibrant, hopeful atmosphere: “First of all, it felt like summer. The sun was shining... Manger Square was packed with hundreds of people... kids holding balloons... people wearing Santa Claus hats. And of course, the huge Bethlehem Christmas tree...” (03:45)

Local and Global Gathering

• The city saw fewer tourists than before the war, but those present included not only locals but also international visitors, such as a couple from Malawi in festive attire.
• Pastor Matiota explained: “This is the birthplace of Jesus Christ. So we came here to see where he was born.” (05:36)

The Experience Under Occupation

• Despite the festive scene, the shadow of conflict persisted. Many locals described heightened restrictions:
  • Bes Al Awad (coffee kiosk owner): “He says that it’s suffocating to live in the West Bank today, that a simple trip to a neighboring city feels like an ordeal...” (05:46)
  • Hanan Harish spent three and a half hours traveling a journey normally thirty minutes due to checkpoints, emphasizing that despite these obstacles, she was determined to celebrate.
• Hadil El Shalchi: “People were defiant, daring to allow themselves a moment of hope in what has been a very dark time.” (06:43)

Notable Quote

• Layla Fadel: “A moment of hope in what has been a very dark time. A powerful message on this Christmas morning.” (06:43)

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2. Honduras Election: A Narrow, Controversial Result

Segment Start: 07:02

Election Background

• Election officials declared conservative, Trump-backed construction entrepreneur Nasri Asfura the next president by less than a 1% margin, after over three weeks of vote counting.
  • The process was marred by software failures, intermittent vote counting, fraud allegations, the resignation of an electoral commissioner, and no clear consensus.
  • The loser, Salvador Nasrala (a centrist and former TV host), has refused to concede, claiming the election was rigged.

U.S. Connections and Geopolitics

• Eder Peralta: “The US doesn’t tend to endorse candidates, but here President Trump not only endorsed Asfura, he said if anyone else won, Honduras would face consequences. … Honduras is important to the U.S. The U.S. has a big military base in the country…” (08:46)
  • Trump also pardoned controversial former president Juan Orlando Hernandez, aligning himself with Asfura and the National Party.

Electoral Integrity Concerns

• Eder Peralta: “When it takes more than three weeks to count some 4 million votes, it doesn’t exactly create a whole lot of confidence.” (10:01)
  • While Nasrala demanded a vote-by-vote recount, it never occurred. The outcome raises concerns about possible unrest in a country with historic electoral violence.

Notable Exchange

• Layla Fadel: “Oh, wow. I’m sure that was an unexpected Christmas present.” (08:40)

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3. Immigration Crackdown: Families on the Brink

Segment Start: 10:44

Record Enforcement and Human Impact

• The Trump administration deported over half a million undocumented immigrants this year, with 65,000 held in detention—more than ever before.
• Jasmine Gar recounts the story of Pastor Marilio Ambrosio, a Guatemalan church leader with no criminal record, deported after 30 years in the U.S. His daughter, Ashley (20), is now the breadwinner for six family members.
• Ashley Ambrosio: “I just feel stressed because of everything and then I just start crying.” (12:16)

Children Bearing Adult Burdens

• Many U.S.-born children or young adults now shoulder financial responsibility due to family separations.
• Immigration lawyers urge undocumented parents to set up emergency guardianship for their U.S.-citizen children.
  • Anonymous American mom (who became guardian for friends’ children): “My husband and I just looked at each other and we were like, yes, of course. Right. Like, not a question, not a moment’s hesitation.” (13:07)

Economic Impact

• Despite claims that deportations would benefit the U.S. job market, the labor report shows rising unemployment, the highest in four years, and declining job growth.
• Jasmine Gar: “This year we are expected to have lost about 1.2 million workers from the labor force between January and July... Economists say it could be a combination of tariffs and immigration policy.” (13:29)

Notable Quotes

• Layla Fadel: “So all these teens having to go to work, carrying some or if not all of the burden of the financial strains of a household.” (12:18)
• Jasmine Gar: “I think that the economic impact of these policies is going to be one of the biggest stories of next year.” (13:29)

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Notable Moments & Tone

• The episode maintained a tone of empathy, with Layla Fadel anchoring reflection alongside breaking news: “A moment of hope in what has been a very dark time.” (06:43)
• Reporting from correspondents emphasized lived experience—whether in occupied Bethlehem or among families separated by U.S. immigration policy.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:15 — Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem resume; scene-setting by Hadil El Shalchi
• 05:46 — Daily life and restrictions in the West Bank
• 07:02 — Honduras election outcome and controversy, interview with Eder Peralta
• 08:46 — Trump’s involvement, geopolitical context
• 10:44 — Immigration crackdown and family separation, Jasmine Gar’s reporting
• 12:16 — Emotional impact on children of deported parents
• 13:29 — Labor market effects of deportations

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Conclusion

This episode delivers a thoughtful, nuanced look at major international and domestic events on Christmas Day. From the firmer hopes flickering in Bethlehem to electoral tensions in Honduras and the day-to-day fallout of U.S. immigration policy, NPR’s correspondents provide firsthand voices and essential context for listeners seeking to understand the world’s headlines.

Transcript

[Layla Fadel]

Oh my God, guys, it's the Layla show today. Let's go crazy. Merry Christmas. If you're celebrating today and you're starting your day by listening to us, well, what an honor. Thank you for being here. And maybe you're also a Christmas slacker. I've been accused and you're still looking for that last minute gift. Well, I'm here to help. For the NPR superfan in your life, there's npr. Forget getting some throwaway gift at the only open gas station nearby. Am I speaking from experience? Maybe? Because if you get npr, you don't have to leave your house and you become a huge part of keeping NPR's independent journalism and our bevy of podcasts going. What says love like a gift? That says I believe in a free press. Also, supporters get access to special perks like bonus episodes and more from across NPR's podcasts. And the best part is you'll seem thoughtful so your mom, your brother, your best friend, or whoever it is won't even realize you actually forgot them. It's okay, you remembered in time. Just go to plus.NPR.org, click on the option you want to gift and then choose give as a gift. That's plus.NPR.org on this Christmas morning, we start in Bethlehem where for the first time since the start of the war in Gaza, the Christmas festivities are back.

[Eder Peralta]

This is the birth breath of Jesus.

[Layla Fadel]

Christ, so we came here to see.

[Jasmine Gar]

Where he was born.

[Layla Fadel]

How does it feel to celebrate again? I'm Layla Fodel and this is up first from NPR News. Election officials in Honduras have announced the winner and the next president is a Trump backed construction entrepreneur. The results come after weeks of vote counting and allegations of fraud. What's behind President Trump's support for the next Honduran leader? And in a year of record breaking immigration enforcement, deportations and detentions are separating families and in some cases that means the oldest child becomes the family breadwinner before going to work or after work.

[Eder Peralta]

I just feel stressed because of everything and then I just start crying there.

[Layla Fadel]

Stay with us for the news. You need to start your day.

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[Layla Fadel]

After two years of not celebrating because of the war in nearby Gaza, Christmas festivities have returned to Bethlehem. The city is nestled in the Israeli occupied West bank and is a place where people from around the world have long gathered to celebrate Jesus birth. NPR's Hadil El Shalchi was at the Christmas Eve celebrations and joins us now from Bethlehem. Good morning.

[Hadil El Shalchi]

Good morning.

[Layla Fadel]

Okay, so set the scene for us. What was it like?

[Hadil El Shalchi]

I mean, what a day. First of all, it felt like summer. The sun was shining. It got pretty hot also. And Manger Square was packed with hundreds of people. Many were wearing their Sunday best, kids holding balloons. There were all these kiosks selling corn and nuts, people wearing Santa Claus hats. And of course, the huge Bethlehem Christmas tree with red and gold baubles and twinkling lights, even though it was daytime, loomed over our heads. Bethlehem has a tradition of holding a Scouts parade on Christmas Eve. We just heard, heard a little bit from them. Young men and women played the bagpipes, drums. They did a few tricks with their batons, throwing them in the air. There's also a tradition where Jerusalem's Latin patriarch marches behind the parade and then gives a speech at the end of it. And indeed, Italian Cardinal Pizzaballa showed up flanked with an enormous amount of security and gave his message.

[Eder Peralta]

But today I see in Bethlehem light.

[Layla Fadel]

So really a message of hope. What did you hear from people in Manger Square?

[Hadil El Shalchi]

You know, people were just like really happy. It's been more than two years of a devastating war in Gaza. And then also since the war started, it's been really restrictive to live as a Palestinian in the west bank, which is where Bethlehem is. The Israeli military has set up so many new checkpoints and military raids have increased in cities where it says it's rooting out militants. I talked to 22 year old Asil Jahja who said that the festivities were just what Bethlehem needed. She says people needed to let off some of the pressure they've felt since the war started. But you know, it wasn't just Palestinians here. There weren't as many tourists as before the war. But you know, there were some Americans, Germans, I heard Italian. I even spoke to a couple from Malawi, a pastor and her husband. They were wearing full on festive Christmas jammies in the middle of the day. Pastor Matiota said they were encouraged to come after she heard that a ceasefire was brokered in Gaza last October.

[Jasmine Gar]

This is the birth breath of Jesus Christ.

[Layla Fadel]

So we came here to see where he was born. Hadil, you mentioned there how restrictive it's been in the West Bank. Did people talk about that?

[Hadil El Shalchi]

Absolutely. I mean, people were happy, but it was top of mind. I met Bes Al awad. He's a 30 year old and he was manning a coffee kiosk his family has set up in Manger Square at Christmas for his whole life. Now, Leila, he described living in the west bank with this one Arabic word. Exactly. He says that it's suffocating to live in the west bank today, that a simple trip to a neighboring city feels like an ordeal and that they could easily expect the Israeli military even in Manger Square without notice. I also spoke to 46 year old Hanan Harish. She said it took her three and a half hours to get from Ramallah to Bethlehem because of the checkpoints. And that's a trip that normally takes half an hour in a car. But she said even though they can be intimidated, she was determined.

[Layla Fadel]

Since morning, I decided not to make.

[Eder Peralta]

Myself nervous because at the end I want to come.

[Hadil El Shalchi]

And really that was the atmosphere here. People were defiant, daring to allow themselves a moment of hope in what has been a very dark time.

[Layla Fadel]

A moment of hope in what has been a very dark time. A powerful message on this Christmas morning. Hadil. That's NPR's Hadil El Shalchi in Bethlehem. Thank you.

[Hadil El Shalchi]

Of course. You're welcome.

[Layla Fadel]

Election officials in Honduras have finally named the winner of the country's presidential election after more than three weeks of counting the votes. That winner is construction entrepreneur Nasri Asfoora, a conservative candidate backed by President Trump. He won by less than 1% of the vote. The election has been clouded by claims of fraud and the loser is refusing to concede. This is the latest swing toward the right in Latin America after Chile elected a far right president earlier this month. For More on this, NPR's Eder Peralta joins us from his base in Mexico City. Good morning.

[Eder Peralta]

Hey, good morning, Leila.

[Layla Fadel]

So what were the dynamics at play in this race?

[Eder Peralta]

Well, look, the president in power now, Xiomara Castro, is a leftist who had promised to fight corruption and to make the lives of Hondurans better. And after four years, Hondurans are still struggling. Her party lost. The polls leading up to the election showed a preference for a man called Salvador Nasrala. He's a centrist, he's a former TV show host, and he's widely seen in Honduras as the least corrupt of the politicians. But Hondurans went to the polls on November 30, and that same night, the problems began. The counting software went haywire. At times, the counting would stop for days at a time. And it wasn't long before the candidates started claiming that the elections were being rigged. There were three electoral commissioners. One of them quit on Tuesday night, saying the process was fraudulent. And then last night, on Noche Buena, Christmas Eve, which is a day where most Hondurans are out partying, not thinking about politics, the Electoral commission got on zoom and they declared that Nasri Asfura had won the presidency.

[Layla Fadel]

Oh, wow. I'm sure that was an unexpected Christmas present. Yeah. So who is Asfura and why did Trump support him?

[Eder Peralta]

I mean, Asfura is a former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, and the candidate for the Conservative National Party. You know, the US doesn't tend to endorse candidates, but here, President Trump not only endorsed as Fora, he said if anyone else won, Honduras would face consequences. And look, in a lot of ways, this makes sense. Honduras is important to the U.S. the U.S. has a big military base in the country, and for decades, it has been a staging ground for US Operations in the region. The current president, Xiomara Castro, has a tense relationship with the US When Trump began his immigration crackdown, she threatened to shut down the US Base in the country. And it seems that Trump made a cold calculation that the most robust US Ally in Honduras would be the National Party. As for US Party. And now this may seem odd because the US has had major problems with the National Party. The last National Party president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, was ext. Extradited to the US and convicted of drug trafficking. But just before this election, Trump pardoned Hernandez and endorsed his ally, Nasrias Fora. In a statement yesterday, the State Department congratulated Asfura and said that they looked forward to working with the new Honduran government.

[Layla Fadel]

Meanwhile, the losing candidate, Salvador Nasralda, says he won't accept the results. Why?

[Eder Peralta]

He says this election was rigged. And let's be clear, when it takes more than three weeks to count some 4 million votes, it doesn't exactly create a whole lot of confidence. But do we know for sure. That it was rigged. We don't. Nasrallah was demanding a vote by vote recount and he never got that. He says he doesn't accept the results, but he hasn't detailed what he plans to do about it. Honduras is a country that has faced electoral violence in the past, so that's also a worry. And we've yet to hear from President Castro who has said the process was flawed.

[Layla Fadel]

That's NPR's Ader Peralta in Mexico City. Thank you, Ader, and Merry Christmas.

[Eder Peralta]

Merry Christmas to you, Layla.

[Layla Fadel]

It's been a year of unprecedented immigration enforcement across the U.S. the Trump administration says it has deported more than half a million undocumented immigrants and more than 65,000 people are currently in immigration detention more than ever before. NPR's Jasmine Gar spent this year talking to families affected by these policies and she joins us now now. Good morning.

[Jasmine Gar]

Good morning.

[Layla Fadel]

You know, Jasmine, as we approach the end of the year, I think about all the stories you've told. Is there one that sticks out for you that illustrates for you what the deportation campaign looks like on the ground?

[Jasmine Gar]

Yeah, absolutely. Earlier this year, I got a call about a pastor who was in detention in Florida. His name was Pastor Marilio Ambrosio from Guatemala. Now, he lived in the US for about 30 years and no criminal record. He's a church leader. He runs a landscaping business. And you know, across the country we're seeing this. Records show 74% of those being detained are like Pastor Ambrosio. They have no criminal conviction. For the most part, their violation is crossing into the country illegally, which is a misdemeanor. Now he was detained and deported back to Guatemala. And this is the kind of family separation I've been seeing all year, which is wreaking economic havoc on these families. I spent time with Pastor Ambrosio's daughter, Ashley Ambrosio, who is 20 years old and now she's the breadwinner of a family of six.

[Layla Fadel]

Before going to work or after work.

[Eder Peralta]

I just feel stressed because of everything and then I just start crying there.

[Layla Fadel]

So all these teens having to go to work, carrying some or if not all of the burden of the financial strains of a household. What are parents who are undocumented doing to prepare for the possibility of separation from their US Born children?

[Jasmine Gar]

Well, immigration lawyers are advising that undocumented parents set up emergency guardianship for their US Citizen children. What that means is legally designating someone who can step in as a guardian if the parents are detained. Over the summer, I spoke to an American mom in Washington, D.C. who asked to remain anonymous because she didn't want to put the Honduran family she's friends with at risk. She had just signed this paperwork to become the emergency guardian for her teenage son's in case his parents were deported to Honduras.

[Eder Peralta]

My husband and I just looked at.

[Layla Fadel]

Each other and we were like, yes, of course. Right. Like, not a question, not a moment's hesitation. It's not something we entered into lightly. At the same time, like, we love them. President Trump says these deportations will open job opportunities for Americans. It's been almost a year now. Is that accurate?

[Jasmine Gar]

Well, the most recent labor report showed unemployment rising to the highest it's been in four years and job growth slowing. Economists I have spoken to say it could be a combination of tariffs and immigration policy. We do know this the US has an aging population, and this year we are expected to have lost about 1.2 million workers from the labor force between January and July. That's according to preliminary census data analyzed by Pew. What I think is that the economic impact of these policies is going to be one of the biggest stories of next year.

[Layla Fadel]

That's NPR's Jasmine Gar. She covers immigration for us. Thank you so much for all this reporting and for your reporting all year.

[Jasmine Gar]

Thanks for having me.

[Layla Fadel]

And that's up first for this Christmas Day, Thursday, December 25th. Merry Christmas. I'm Layla Fadel. For your next listen, consider consider this from NPR. We here at UPVerse give you the three big stories the day our Consider this Colleagues take a different approach. They dive into a single news story and what it means to you. Learn about a big story of the day in less than 15 minutes. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Today's episode of up first was edited by James Heider, Dede Schanke, Eric Westervelt and Lisa Thompson. It was produced by Ziad Buch, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Zoe Van Genhoven. Our technical director is David Greenberg, and our deputy executive producer is Kelly Dickens. Join us again tomorrow. And again, Merry Christmas.

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