A caravan of 3,000 migrants left Tapachula, Mexico on Tuesday, making its way north to the United States border before potential policy changes after the presidential election, The New York Post reports. U.S. Border Patrol sources told the outlet that the agency was very much aware that Election Day would spark a new wave of migrants. The source said, "If Trump wins, they are gonna try to get here before he's in office," the source said. "It's one last '[expletive] you' to America."
Another source said, "We knew that was coming because they want to get in before 'orange bad man' wins."
Former President Donald Trump has made the border one of the top issues of his campaign and has vowed to deport millions of illegal migrants if he wins. Unsurprisingly, many migrants fear that a Trump victory would lead to a halt in asylum programs, spurring them to try and reach the U.S. before January. Even if Vice President Kamala Harris wins, she has promised to shore up border security.
The latest caravan comes weeks after another group of 2,000 migrants began heading to the U.S. from Tapachula, about 50 miles from northwest of Guatemala. A Border Patrol source told The Post that the migrants will likely make it to the U.S. border. "They always do," the source said.
Agents in Eagle Pass, Texas, a notorious hot spot for illegal crossings, have said they've seen a surge in migrants ahead of Election Day. They note that more than 300 migrants a day have turned themselves in to Border Patrol in Maverick County alone.
The House Committee on Homeland Security estimates border agents will have caught more than 10 million migrants illegally crossing the border by the time President Joe Biden leaves office on Jan. 20.