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Around 5,000 people are making their way to the U.S. southern border despite the difficulties local Mexican governments are putting in their path.
Migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are moving from the southeast Mexican state of Chiapas towards the United States with hundreds of families in dire need of food and water.
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"We have not received any help from civilians or entities or the government ... the only thing that accompanies us are police vehicles ... so that we don't step into the high speed lane," Luisa Maria Rosell, a Guatemalan housewife who is travelling with her husband and daughter, complained.
Since early Monday, around 3,000 migrants left Tapachula City's central park, where they were resting over the weekend after walking more than 14 hours from the Guatemalan border. The migrant caravan is currently made up of around 5,000 people, according to Mexico’s Federal Police estimates.
"We don't have another option but to migrate. We don't have another option. And if Trump is not happy, well then... ,” Oscar Romero, a 23-year old Honduran farmer said and added, “We don't come here because we felt like it one day. We come because we have needs. We left family."
Join local actions on #MayDay #UniteAgainstRacism. We must send a strong message that immigrants aren’t responsible for low wages or cuts to services – the rich and politicians are.
— Migrant Rights Network (@MigrantRightsCA) April 16, 2019
Find/share an action, take a selfie: https://t.co/6GIHSJzjN3 pic.twitter.com/FBXM3ea18O
This new wave of migrants was seen walking next to the Tapachula-Huehuetan highway in the early hours of Monday. Later, Chiapas' authorities unsuccessfully tried to prevent migrants from entering Huixtla, a city which declared an emergency Monday night when Central Americans managed to break barriers intended to contain them.
Entire families from Central America hope to reach the U.S. southern border even though Mexico has refused to give them transit permits through its territory. In their attempt, however, many have been already stopped by immigration agents.
In October 2018, thousands of Hondurans and Salvadorans left their countries in different caravans and crossed Mexico with the desire of reaching the United States and seeking asylum, in an exodus that caused diplomatic clashes between the two countries.
United States President Donald Trump has accused Mexico of failing to contain illegal immigration since last year. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO), however, has been collaborating to curb migrant flows by regulating the movement of people and offering job opportunities and better pay for those willing to stay in his country.
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