A caravan of up to 2,000 migrants departed southern Mexico on Friday in a race to reach the U.S. border before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated Jan. 20.
Migrants are trying to take advantage of President Joe Biden's loose asylum and border policies, and more such groups are reportedly expected to make the trek before Trump implements tighter border restrictions and mass deportations upon taking office.
The latest large group, at least the 10th since October to trek to the U.S. border, began its northward march Friday from Mexico's Chiapas state, on the border with Guatemala, according to Border Report. It was said to be days away from reaching Juárez, Mexico, which sits just south of El Paso, Texas.
"These reported caravans generally travel very slowly and often splinter before they make progress moving northbound toward the southwest border," a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told Newsweek. "Nevertheless, CBP will continue to monitor developments in coordination with our foreign and interagency counterparts, as we have with previous movements of migrants."
Several migrant shelter operators in Mexico contacted by Border Report said they have seen an increase in new arrivals but not enough to overwhelm their bed capacity or food and cleaning supplies. Some fear that could change once Trump implements his plan of mass deportations of illegal immigrants, forcing cities like Juárez to cope not only with the steady stream of migrants coming from the south but large numbers being removed from the U.S. to Mexico.
"There must be an agreement between the government of Mexico and the government of the United States to establish humanitarian policies in favor of all these people," Luis García Villagrán, director of the Center for Human Dignity and a key organizer of the caravan, told reporters Thursday in Tapachula in southern Chiapas, according to Border Report.
The Center for Human Dignity is a nonprofit that advocates for the rights of migrants and refugees.
"We are not criminals," Villagrán said. "All we are asking for is an opportunity for life."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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