Mexican immigration officers watched helplessly as a huge caravan of Central Americans headed towards the border, taking over both of the highways that led to the immigration checkpoints, their numbers growing with every step they took.
One of the immigration agents covered her uniform with an orange shawl and fled out of her booth towards a small restaurant across the highway, after she was tipped off that a cavalcade of migrants was heading towards her – and there was nothing she could do to stop them.
The caravan, organized by a volunteer group called People Without Borders, has now entered Mexico illegally but the authorities haven’t made any effort to stop the flood of migrants from crossing the border.
Mexican Border Flooded with Migrants
The march began almost five days ago as over one thousand Central Americans, including women and children, moved fearlessly through military bases, checkpoints, and police officials, who were all unable to stop a caravan of such an enormous size.
Most of the migrants belong to Honduras who are desperately trying to escape the violence and unrest in their country which ensued after Juan Orlando Hernández was sworn in as the new Honduran president. Final destination of the caravan – The United States of America.
Many of the immigration officers willingly stepped aside to let the caravan pass through, not taking the risk to get stomped over by the army of hundreds.
The Power of Numbers
The volunteer group which organized the caravan says that the purpose of marching together is to protect the people from gangs and drug cartels, who are known for hounding lone migrants, as well as to bypass the authorities and checkpoints with ease.
Organizer Rodrigo Abeja says that the caravan has proven that the power is in the numbers since no gang, military official, or immigration officer has dared to raise a finger at them or even question them about their motive.
While entering the Mexican border from Guatemala, Abeja invigorated the crowd by yelling words of inspiration through the loudspeaker, “We will get through this as long as we stand together and protect each other.”
The caravan still has another few weeks of trekking to go before they reach the border of United States and many of the migrants are hopeful that they will be allowed to enter the country with the same ease as they were in Guatemala and Mexico.
It is difficult to say how the U.S. authorities will react to an organized migration attempt of such a large scale, given the new immigration policies adopted by the Trump administration which have made it extremely difficult for migrants to get asylum.
No Guarantee for the Future
According to the caravan organizers of the 1,200 migrants marching towards the U.S. border, almost 80 per cent are Hondurans who are trying to flee poverty and violence in their country in hopes of finding a better life in the United States.
Among the small army are Karen and her two children, who have been marching for miles under the scorching 90-degree sun, but the resilient mother says that she would rather walk an eternity in the blazing heat than spend another day in Honduras. She is hopeful that marching with the caravan will prove to be the right decision for her children’s future.
Not all of the migrants in the caravan are looking for an illegal entry into the United States. Some of them like Yonis, who refused to disclose his full name, want to settle in different parts of Mexico. Yonis says that his destination is the Mexican state of Nuevo León where he wishes to start a new chapter of his life with his wife and seven-month-old child. He has already legalized his status in Mexico and established a life there, now he wants the rest of his family to join him as well. Yonis says that he may, one day, attempt to seek asylum in the United States, but for now, he is happy to call Mexico his new home.
For the remaining two-thirds of the migrants who wish to gain unauthorized entry into the United States, there is no guarantee that they will be able to fulfill their mission once they reach the border.
