
In a significant development, a caravan of around 6,000 migrants, including individuals from Central America, Venezuela, Cuba, and other countries, is making its way through Mexico towards the U.S. border. The procession, one of the largest in over a year, raises questions about the effectiveness of joint efforts by the Biden administration and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s government to control the surge of migrants seeking entry into the United States.
The caravan, comprised mainly of families with young children, departed from Tapachula, near Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala, on Christmas Eve. Security forces observed the march, employing tactics seen in the past, where authorities wait for the marchers to tire out before offering a form of temporary legal status, often used by migrants to continue their journey northward.
Migrants like Cristian Rivera, who left his wife and child in Honduras, express frustration at the lack of response to their pleas for permission to head north. Despite a previous agreement in May between López Obrador and the U.S. to take in migrants from countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba, this deal seems insufficient as migration numbers surge again.
The surge in migration has led to as many as 10,000 daily arrests at the U.S. southwest border this month, prompting the suspension of cross-border rail traffic in Texas. López Obrador has expressed a willingness to work with the U.S. on migration concerns but also urged the Biden administration to ease sanctions on leftist governments in Cuba and Venezuela.
The U.S. delegation, led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall, is set to meet with López Obrador on Wednesday. The discussions will likely address concerns about migration and broader issues affecting regional stability.
However, Mexico’s ability to assist the U.S. may be constrained, as the government recently halted a program to repatriate and transfer migrants within Mexico due to a lack of funds. With over 680,000 migrants detected living illegally in Mexico this year and a record 137,000 seeking asylum in the country, addressing the root causes of migration remains a complex challenge.
This caravan represents the largest since June 2022, signaling ongoing challenges despite previous efforts to curb migration. The situation underscores the need for continued diplomatic discussions between the U.S. and Mexico to address the complex factors contributing to the migration crisis.
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