Thousands of Latin American immigrants to the United States have started moving north at once from southern Mexico.
At around 6 am (local time) on the 6th (local time), Mexican media such as Millenio and AP and Reuters reported that immigrants from Latin America to the United States began walking in Tapachula, Chiapas, southern Mexico.
Many children were walking on the road in the pouring rain.
The migrants marched forward holding up signposts with phrases such as “We are immigrants, not criminals” and chanting “You can do it,” Mexican TV Asteca reported.
The number of immigrants is at least 6,000, Reuters said, and may be the largest US-bound caravan seen in recent years.
A ‘caravan’ refers to a procession of immigrants moving in large groups to the United States, mainly from Central America. Moving together to reduce the risks and costs associated with individual movements.
Many of those who departed from Tapachula are Venezuelans, and it is known that many are from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Cuba.
After entering Mexico through the land border from Guatemala, they waited in Tapachula to obtain a humanitarian visa to pass through Mexico.
The influx of immigrants delayed the work of the Mexican immigration office, so immigrants who were living near homelessness in Tapachula and waiting without a promise were unable to bear it any longer and started moving recklessly.
Their goal is to first travel to Tuxtla Gutierrez in the nearby state of Chiapas, then to Mexico City, the capital, and then to the northern state of Tamaulipas, which borders the US.
Either walk together along the road or get a passing vehicle and travel only by land.
However, it is not known how far they will go north.
Most of the caravans that started in the last two or three years had to be scattered because of the Mexican or Guatemalan authorities.
At the beginning of 2018, when caravans from Central America increased to the United States, immigrants passed through Mexico and Guatemala without difficulty, but Mexico and other countries began to actively block caravans under pressure from the former US government, Donald Trump.
This year, hundreds of caravans from Tapachula were also blocked by the military and police.
Although the number of caravans traveling to the United States has decreased, the number of people who pay money to smugglers to travel individually has continued to increase.
This large-scale caravan departure coincided with the opening of the Americas Summit in Los Angeles.
The host country, the United States, has predicted that the summit will focus on the issue of illegal immigration.