A caravan of more than 6,000 migrants and about twenty nationalities advance from the southern border of Mexico this Tuesday, on the eve of the visit of a US delegation led by the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinkento address the migratory surge with the Mexican Government.
This group, which left in Christmas Eve with almost 10,000 people, the largest of the year, left the municipality of Huixtla this Tuesday until reaching customs in the south of the state of Chiapaswhere they knelt to pray.
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The undocumented immigrants asked the officials of USA and to the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obradorlet them tempt their hearts to allow their progress.
Migrants walk in a caravan, to reach the northern border, in the municipality of Huixtla in Chiapas, Mexico, on December 26, 2023. (Photo by Juan Manuel Blanco / EFE)
Rosa, originally from The Saviorwhere she was a domestic worker before leaving the country due to lack of employment, so she now intends to come to the United States to improve her quality of life, but she has encountered the obstacles of Migration’s national institute (INM) of Mexico.
“There are many checkpoints and they deport us“he told EFE.
“We are asking for documents to be able to reach the northern border, since there are many mothers who are going to the American dream. In our places sometimes there is not enough economy and employment, so we have to come to Mexico to cross to the other side”, he recounted.
An exodus and an international crisis
The caravan advances while López Obrador awaits this Wednesday the urgent visit of a delegation from USA formed by Blinken; the secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkasand Elizabeth Sherwood-RandallWhite House National Security Advisor.
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“We are going to have a meeting on Wednesday with a commission that comes from the United States. We invite you to discuss the immigration issue”, noted the Mexican president in his morning conference this Tuesday.
This December, historic numbers of people seeking to enter the United States have been recorded at the border with Mexico, where the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP, in English) confirmed this Tuesday the arrival of more than 2.2 million migrants from January to November 2023.
Questioned immigration policy
In this context, the director of the Center for Human Dignity (CDH), Luis Rey García Villagranwho accompanies the caravan, questioned the meeting between Mexico and the United States due to the rejection of migrants.
“Mexico meets to ask the United States for money and will give it to fight the poorest, whom Andrés Manuel López Obrador (said) he was going to defend“, the activist told EFE.
“They have criminalized women, children and they have criminalized the defense of human rights in Mexico”he added.
Despite López Obrador’s opening speech, the Venezuelan migrant Nery Jesus Menzana pointed out that the Government of Mexico is not convinced of helping the migration.
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For this reason, he asked both Governments that, before stopping them or meeting to control the migratory flow, they should cooperate to improve the conditions of their people so that their citizens do not migrate.
“If the people migrate, it is because the Government lacks something to satisfy the needs of those people, to migrate to seek a new hope of life. And if you meet with a country, to deny migration to your people, it is better to meet with your Government so that you can lend (resources) to the people so that they do not migrate.”, he opined.
Until this Tuesday afternoon, the caravan was in the municipality of Villa Comaltitlánwhere they would rest until leaving this Wednesday to Escuintla.
:quality(75)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/elcomercio/f166835a-1a07-4080-9c33-5e7ee83f5eab.png "Caravan with thousands of migrants advances through Mexico on the eve of Blinken's visit 1")
