Mexico Blocks Migrant Caravan Headed to U.S. Border
Security and migration officials from Mexico blocked the passage of a new migrant caravan on Sunday as the group made their way into the U.S. borders.
The migrant caravan was blocked by the member of Mexico's National Institute of Migration and National Guard at the edge of the country's southern town of Huixtla, a day after the group set off from Tapachula city.
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Migrant Caravan off to U.S. Borders Blocked by Mexico Officials
The said migrant caravan was reported to be composed of immigrants from Central America, Venezuela, Cuba, and Haiti, Associated Press reported. The group was reported to spend the night at a basketball court, as Mexico officials with anti-riot gear pushed many of the immigrants into trucks around 5:00 a.m. Sunday.
The total number of the said migrant caravan was still unclear, as numerous reports claim that the group was composed of 400 while others reported them to have at least 800 people.
Central Americans and Haitians from the latest migrant caravan claimed that poverty and violence in their countries were why they seek refuge in the U.S., New York Post reported.
As the operation from the Mexican officials continued, some migrants were recounted to be separated from their children, as authorities intercept people who ran on the banks of Huixtla River. Moreover, some of the immigrants from the group were detained by the authorities.
However, details on how many were placed under detention were not furthered by the officials.
The said group blocked by Mexican officials marked them as the fourth migrant caravan broken by authorities, as officials intercepted two more migrant groups in the country over the week.
On Thursday, officials from Mexico detained at least 50 migrants in Escuintla. At least 300 from the said group were able to evade the said capture. Another group composed of at least 600 migrants who left from Tapachula were also halted by the country's officials.
The latest interception happened as thousands of mostly Haitian migrants stranded in Tapachula protested in the recent weeks over months and years of waiting for their asylum requests to be processed.
To date, more than 77,000 people applied for protected status in Mexico. About 55,000 of them were known to be from Tapachula city, where shelters were reported to be in full capacity.
Mexico Faces Scrutiny Over Migrant Caravan Interception
As migrant caravan interceptions continue in the country, Mexico faced scrutiny as immigrants claimed that some officials utilized "excessive force" during their intervention.
A Honduran immigrant named Maria Martha Ramos said that some of the officials threw stones and detain people. Ramos was known to be one of the migrants intercepted by officials in Huixtla.
Meanwhile, footage of another migrant caravan interception in the previous week showed that the Mexican army and immigration authorities used excessive force to detain migrants. Mexican correspondent Maria de Jesus Peters claimed that she was elbowed and slapped by authorities when she was "moving up and down" to take photos of the incident.
In the previous week, Mexican president Lopez Obrador pointed out that the strategy of containing migrants in Southern Mexico needs more investment to keep Central Americans from leaving their homes.
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This article is owned by Latin Post
Written By: Joshua Summers
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