A new migrant caravan of mostly Central American migrants left Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala on Tuesday. Many in the group, according to some reports, intend to posture near the U.S.-Mexico border in hopes that a Democratic win in the midterms might signal a return to a less secure border.
According to one report by Milenio Diario, a daily print media company based in Mexico City, the group calling themselves “Caravan Without Borders” is estimated at more than 400 migrants. The bulk of the large group of migrants hails from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. The group includes smaller numbers of Nicaraguan, Haitian, Venezuelan, and Cuban nationals.
According to Milenio, the group has encountered its share of difficulties reaching southern Mexico, including financial hardship, inclement weather, and the long walks between cities in Central America that can be difficult for the oldest and youngest members of the group.
Julio Rosas, an independent journalist who publishes at MostlyPeaceful.media, spoke with some members of the caravan who say they are hopeful Democrats win the midterms.
One report by Diario del Sur estimated the group at around 700 after it left Tapachula on Tuesday. Some migrants in the group hope to reach Central Mexico and ultimately be granted formal refugee status by the Mexican government. Formal recognition will allow the migrants to work in the country and move more freely in hopes of getting closer to the United States’ southern border.
As with other migrant caravans entering Mexico from Central America, many in the group are citing economic reasons for attempting to move north into Mexico. Some within the latest caravan are also reported to be migrants who have been deported in recent months who are attempting to illegally reenter the United States to reunite with family members who remained behind.
The last caravan of nearly 600 migrants, who called themselves the “Fe y Esperanza,” entered Mexico from Guatemala and was mostly comprised of migrants from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Haiti. Authorities dissolved the caravan after three weeks of walking along the coastal highway in Chiapas.
Authorities stopped the group in mid-October near the Oaxaca/Chiapas border and processed them through Mexico’s National Institute of Migration (INM). INM officers granted the migrants travel documents, allowing them to travel north toward the United States by commercial conveyance or other means.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, a similar caravan made the attempt in April and quickly dissolved after Mexican authorities intervened, but unlike the “Fe y Esperanza” caravan that was issued travel documents, INM returned many in the group to southern Mexico.
Migrants travel within the organized caravans for safety and to protest the long delay in refugee processing by Mexican authorities. Joining the caravan generally helps migrants obtain formal refugee status or travel documents and avoid being stranded in the southern Mexico border city of Tapachula.
Migrants have long complained of the lack of employment opportunities in the region and the media attention the caravans receive generally speeds the process of obtaining legal status in Mexico.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.