HUEHUETAN (Mexico) – Several thousand migrants began walking through southern Mexico Tuesday morning before dawn, covering ground before the heat and while authorities did not show any signs of stopping them.
Regional leaders meeting in Los Angeles for the Summit of the Americas this week saw the largest migrant caravan of the Year as a living illustration of the problems governments face managing immigration flows.
Many migrants had other pressing concerns than getting their families safe and finding work.
Maria Jose Gomez (24), and Roselys Gutierrez (25), a couple from Venezuela said that they left Colombia after suffering homophobia and physical attacks in Colombia.
They arrived in Tapachula, Mexico, a week earlier and joined the caravan as it left on Monday. Gomez walked Tuesday with the rainbow flag, and Gutierrez with the Venezuelan flag.
Mexico has attempted to control the flow of migrants to the south. This is far away from the U.S border. Many have become frustrated by the slow bureaucratic process of regularizing their status and the inability to find work to support their families.
In 2018, the phenomenon of migrant cars took off. In 2018, migrant caravans took off. Previously, smaller annual caravans traveled through Mexico to highlight the plight of migrants, but with no stated goal of crossing the border into the United States.
Then, thousands of migrants started walking together, hoping for safety and greater chances that officials wouldn’t try to stop them. Although it worked initially, the Guatemalan government and Mexican government have been much more aggressive in trying to disband the caravans before they gain momentum.
Although the caravans are well-respected by the media, they only represent a fraction of the daily migratory flow of migrants that brings people to the U.S. border each day, often with the assistance of smugglers.
