Migrant Caravan Flees Honduras in Chase of American Dream
As the surge of migrants continues to shock personnel at the United States-Mexico border, the second wave of the migrant caravan has formed in Honduras, setting forward to the U.S. to search for better opportunities.
At around 4 A.M. on Tuesday, the small groups of migrants who arrived at a local bus terminal the night before started their journey towards the U.S.-Mexico border. The caravan, which departed for the Guatemalan border before dawn on Tuesday, is the second to be assembled in Honduras this year. The migrants came from Honduras' northern city of San Pedro Sula to cross Guatemala to reach the U.S. after crossing through Mexico, based on some reports.
According to One America News, the formation of hundreds of migrants prompted Alejandro Giammattei, the Guatemalan President to issue an emergency order, pointing out the threats on public health brought by the group. The order banned not only public gatherings in municipalities close to the border but also locked down the border parts along the migrants' route.
The caravan is reportedly made up of some 300 individuals, mostly young men, along with a number of women who are carrying children. They acknowledged the illegality of their intention to cross the U.S. border. Most Honduran migrants who joined the second major caravan this year confessed that they are in search of a better life and opportunities in the United States, Xinhua reported.
Cristian Armando Nunez, one among Hondurans who joined the caravan, shared that they know the current border closures imposed by Central American governments. However, regardless of the consequences, they will still go to the U.S. border. This year, Central Americans have made up the bulk of illegal crossings into the U.S., which led to the unexpected spike in illegal immigration.
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Furthermore, the caravan will make their way to the Corinto customs office in Puerto Cortes, a city in Honduras, where they will seek to cross the Guatemalan border despite restrictions imposed in the country due to threats in public health because of the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. President Joe Biden appointed Vice President Kamala Harris as the person-in-charge in the border situation, managing the migrant flow on the southern border of the country, connecting with Mexico.
The First Wave
Escaping their country's challenges, poverty, drugs, unemployment, and violence, around 3,000 Hondurans also departed their country on foot in January. They walked thousands of kilometers through Central America, as they hoped for a welcome from U.S. President Joe Biden.
But the quest of thousands of Hondurans ended tragically as they were now included in thousands of migrants who were stuck in the U.S. border, along with other nationalities and watched over by the U.S. Border Patrol. Before their arrival, the Biden administration already warned about the border closure due to threats of the ongoing pandemic.
Despite the surge in the arriving migrants, Biden has promised that they will be fair and humane in handling the immigration system and pledged to help other nations to cut the root causes of poverty and violence in Central America, Arab News reported.
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WATCH: Honduras: New migrant caravan heads to the U.S - TeleSUR English
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