A fresh wave of up to 15,000 migrants is set to crash into the already flooded US southern border as Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepares for a dire state visit to Mexico later this week.
Hailing mostly from Cuba, Haiti and Honduras, the newly formed caravan of about 8,000 asylum-seekers began its march through Mexico to the border days before Blinken’s meeting with Mexican President Andres Lopez Manuel Obrador to discuss surging illegal immigration.
Defiant radical migrant-rights activist Luis Garcia Villagran, who is accompanying the group, predicted that staggering number could swell to 15,000 people by the time it reaches the border.
“We won’t stop — we’ll keep walking,’’ he vowed.
Departing from the southern Mexican city of Tapachula, the throng began its journey Christmas Eve.
Migrants at the front of the mass held a large cross along with a banner reading “Exodus from poverty.”
Tapachula officials said the town’s resources were straining to accommodate the migrants who gathered there in unmanageable droves.
“The problem is that the southern border [with Guatemala] is open, and 800 to 1,000 people are crossing it daily,” Villagran said. “If we don’t get out of Tapachula, the town will collapse.”
Those leading the latest massive migration march through Mexico held a banner reading “Exodus from poverty.” APThe caravan advanced roughly 9 miles after beginning their trek at dawn Sunday, according to the BBC.
There have been more than 2 million migrant encounters at the US southern border in the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years, with officials there warning that the influx shows no signs of slowing.
Nearly a quarter million migrants crossed the southern US border in November alone — a new high for the month and the third highest total in history.
With pressure mounting on the White House to tackle the spiraling crisis, Obrador has signaled a willingness to work with US officials.
The group began its trek Christmas Eve. AP
The number of migrants in a caravan marching toward the US border is estimated at 8,000 but could grow to 15,000, organizers said. AP
The caravan comes days ahead of a visit to Mexico by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Juan Manuel Blanco/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockThe Mexican president spoke with US President Biden last week to address illegal immigration ahead of Blinken’s visit Wednesday.
Accompanying Blinken on the crucial trip will be Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and a Homeland adviser, Liz Sherwood-Randall.
Obregon said he is urging the Biden administration to ease up on restrictive US sanctions against the lefty governments of Cuba and Venezuela, where about 20% of the 617,865 migrants who US agents encountered at the border between October and November were from.
Obrador said he also wants to see the US dole out more financial aid to struggling Latin American countries, where some migrants say they are fleeing from in search of better economic opportunities.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre last week attempted to downplay the eye-popping figures emerging from the border.
“What we’re seeing here at the border, the increased migration flow, certainly, it ebbs and flows,” she said. “And we’re at a time of the year where we’re seeing more at the border. And it’s not unusual. This is an immigration system that has been broken for decades.”
But Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel pushed back on that position Saturday, arguing that the incursion is reaching unprecedented levels.
“The numbers don’t lie,” McDaniel she said. “Joe Biden created a humanitarian crisis at our border and is actively weakening our national security.”
-Post Wire Services
