Thousands of Migrants in Caravan Continue Trajectory Through Southern Mexico
HUIXTLA, Mexico (AP) — Under the relentless sun, thousands of migrants in a caravan continued to trudge through southern Mexico on Tuesday, with many expressing pessimism regarding an upcoming meeting between American and Mexican officials about the migrant surge at the U.S. border.
The migrants passed by Mexico’s main inland immigration inspection point outside the town of Huixtla, in southern Chiapas state. National Guard officers at the inspection point made no attempt to stop the estimated 6,000 members of the caravan.
The migrants, consisting of single adults and families, were pushing onward to the next town, Villa Comaltitlan, approximately 11 miles (17 kilometers) northwest of Huixtla. The migrants voiced their doubts about the effectiveness of the upcoming meeting between U.S. and Mexican officials, with some saying they expect nothing beneficial to come from it.
Migrant activist Luis García Villagrán, one of the organizers of the caravan, expressed skepticism about the meeting, stating, “The meeting will be between fools and fools, who want to use women and children as trading pieces. We are not trading pieces for any politician.”
U.S. officials are expected to press Mexico to stop more migrants at the meeting scheduled for Wednesday. However, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that he wants the United States to send more development aid to migrants’ home countries, and to reduce or eliminate sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela.
The Mexican government is grappling with the pressure to address the surge in migrants encountered at the southwest U.S. border, with as many as 10,000 migrants reportedly being arrested daily this month. Mexico detected 680,000 migrants moving through the country in the first 11 months of 2023.
The caravan started its journey on Christmas Eve from the city of Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala, and migrants spent Christmas night sleeping on scraps of cardboard or plastic stretched out under awnings, in tents, or on the bare ground.
The continued flow of migrants through Mexico has disrupted bilateral trade and stoked anti-migrant sentiment, prompting the U.S. officials to demand action from the Mexican government.
As the caravan stretches on, the outcome of the discussion between American and Mexican officials remains uncertain, leaving the migrants with doubt about their future and their prospects for asylum in the U.S.