The first Central American migrants from a caravan traveling through Mexico toward the US in hopes of seeking asylum on Sunday arrived in Mexico City, taking up temporary shelter at a sports stadium.
More than 1,000 Central Americans, many fleeing gang violence and financial hardship in their home countries, bedded down at the stadium, where the city government set up medical aid and food kitchens.
Ahead of US elections today, US President Donald Trump has ordered thousands of troops to the Mexican border, where units strung up razor wire at the weekend.
Photo: Reuters
The migrants arrived Mexico City, nearly 805km from the closest border crossings in Texas, four weeks after setting out from the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula.
“Our heads are set at getting to the United States, to fulfill the American dream,” said Mauricio Mancilla, who traveled with his six-year-old son from San Pedro Sula. “We have faith in God that we will do this, whatever the circumstances.”
Thousands more Central Americans were moving in groups in Veracruz, the central state of Puebla and in the southern state of Chiapas, local media reported.
“This is an exodus,” Alejandro Solalinde, a Catholic priest and migrant rights advocate, told reporters. “It’s without precedent.”
Washington has asked Mexico to halt the advance of the migrants and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has offered temporary identification papers and jobs if they register for asylum in the southern states of Chiapas and Oaxaca.
The Mexican government on Saturday said it was processing nearly 2,800 asylum requests and that about 1,100 Central Americans had been deported.
At the capital’s famed shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe, a group of Mexican volunteers called out on bullhorns, offering bus rides to migrants to the stadium.
Cesar Gomez, a 20-year old Guatemalan, said he jumped at joining the caravan to avoid the dangers of traveling alone and paying thousands of dollars to human smugglers.
“This was a good opportunity,” he said as he waited for a ride. “The first thing is to try for the United States. If not, maybe I will stay here.”
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