Thousands join migrant caravan in Mexico ahead of Secretary of State Blinken’s visit to the capital

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A massive migrant caravan, comprised of individuals from Central America, Venezuela, Cuba, and various other nations, embarked on a journey through Mexico on Sunday. Their destination: the U.S. border. This procession unfolds just days before the arrival of Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Mexico City, where discussions will revolve around forging fresh agreements aimed at managing the influx of migrants seeking entry into the United States.

This caravan, estimated to be approximately 6,000 strong, includes numerous families, many of whom have young children in tow. It marks the largest such caravan in over a year, underscoring the fact that collaborative efforts by the Biden administration and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s government to deter migration are proving insufficient.

The caravan, which set out on Christmas Eve from Tapachula, near Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala, encountered the familiar sight of security forces observing their progress. This spectacle harkens back to past instances when authorities awaited the exhaustion of marchers before offering a form of temporary legal status, a tactic frequently employed by individuals to continue their northward journey.

“We’ve been waiting here for three or four months without an answer,” remarked Cristian Rivera, who is traveling alone, having left his wife and child behind in his native Honduras. “Hopefully, with this march, there will be a change, and we can obtain the permission we need to head north.”

In May, López Obrador consented to shelter migrants from countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba who had been turned away by the U.S. for failing to adhere to rules providing new legal avenues for asylum and migration. However, this agreement, designed to curb a post-pandemic surge in migration, now appears inadequate as migrant numbers surge once more, disrupting bilateral trade and fueling anti-migrant sentiments among conservative U.S. voters.

During this month, as many as 10,000 migrants were apprehended daily at the U.S. southwest border. Simultaneously, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection had to suspend cross-border rail traffic in Texas cities such as Eagle Pass and El Paso due to migrants riding atop freight trains.

Arrests for illegal border crossings have exceeded 2 million in each of the U.S. government’s last two fiscal years, reflecting technological advancements that facilitate migration as a response to poverty, natural disasters, political oppression, and organized crime.

On Friday, López Obrador expressed his willingness to collaborate with the U.S. once more to address migration concerns. He also urged the Biden administration to ease sanctions on leftist governments in Cuba and Venezuela, as roughly 20% of the 617,865 migrants encountered nationwide in October and November hailed from these countries. Furthermore, he called for increased aid to developing nations in Latin America and beyond.

The upcoming high-level U.S. delegation, set to meet with the Mexican president, will include Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall. However, Mexico’s capacity to assist the U.S. may be constrained. In December, the government halted a program for repatriating and transferring migrants within Mexico due to budgetary limitations. To date this year, Mexico has identified over 680,000 migrants residing in the country illegally, with a record 137,000 foreigners seeking asylum within its borders.

Sunday’s caravan represents the largest such event since June 2022 when a similarly sized group embarked on their journey while President Biden hosted leaders in Los Angeles for the Summit of the Americas. In October, another march coincided with a summit organized by López Obrador to address the migration crisis with regional leaders, followed by a month later when 3,000 migrants blocked the main border crossing with Guatemala.

Please note that this information has been paraphrased and expanded upon for a detailed understanding of the situation.

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