But now, Ms. Vazquez isn’t sure the journey is worthwhile, thanks to the rapid spread of news that the U.S. is speedily deporting undocumented Central American families. A rise in deportations in the past two weeks anchor a broader international effort to stem the flood of child migrants across the Rio Grande that has spawned a humanitarian crisis and a U.S. political brawl over immigration.

“People are now telling me that things have changed,” Ms. Vasquez said, leaving her uncertain whether to press ahead or return home to La Ceiba on Honduras’s Atlantic coast.

Her cold feet come as the number of unaccompanied minors apprehended at the Rio Grande Valley, the most popular crossing point, has dropped sharply in recent weeks, U.S. officials say. In mid-June, an average of about 300 children were apprehended daily. Last week, fewer than 100 migrant minors were detained a day, the Department of Homeland Security said. Administration officials said it wasn’t clear whether the trend would continue, and that factors such as weather could be at play.