By Jose Torres and Lizbeth Diaz
HUEHUETAN, Mexico (Reuters) – About 3,000 people carrying bags, water and small children trod through intense heat along a highway in southern Mexico on Tuesday, traveling in two groups aiming to reach the U.S. border.
Over the past week migrants have launched two caravans – large groups of people walking together – bound for the United States. In the past such caravans have stirred intense debate in the United States, where immigration is likely to be a key topic ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.
“Whoever is (in charge of the U.S. government), we will continue the fight to be there,” said Leivi Galvna, a migrant from Honduras. “We have to fight for our dream.”
As they walked, the group shouted phrases like “yes we can,” while pushing worn-out strollers.
In recent years, caravans have been a means for tens of thousands of migrants to cross Mexico, often as a safety measure amid reports that robberies, rapes and kidnappings of migrants are common.
The caravans are often a lifeline for those who cannot afford to pay a smuggler or human trafficker for a “safer” journey.
“I travel more safely in a caravan, I don’t want to be killed in Mexico,” said Yoisy, a Venezuelan migrant who tired of waiting for an appointment through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection CBP One platform to apply for asylum.
The Security Ministry in Chiapas, Mexico’s southernmost state, bordering Guatemala, told Reuters there were between 2,500 and 3,000 people in the caravan and most were Venezuelans.
Another local government source said there had been a significant increase in the number of children in recent caravans.
In June, when the Biden administration early in the month implemented a policy prohibiting migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally from applying for asylum, the daily average of arrests ranged between 2,500 and 3,000 migrants per day for a week, a huge decline from prior months.
But thousands of migrants continue to take a shot at seeking asylum in the United States with the hope of leaving behind insecurity, poverty and other problems in their home countries.
Jose Maria Garcia, director of the Juventud 2000 migrant shelter in Tijuana, said he did not know to which border town the caravans were headed, but said the uncertain outcome of the upcoming U.S. elections could be a motivating catalyst.
“The migrant community is very confused,” he said, of how migrants view the future of U.S. immigration policy.
(Reporting by Jose Torres and Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Sarah Kinosian; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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