One week after the caravan of migrants making their way from Honduras through Mexico arrived at the southern border, approximately 300 people have already joined it, and Mexico estimates that 5,000 to 10,000 migrants have left their home in central Honduras for the very real possibility of gaining access to the United States. While the United States has sheltered tens of thousands of migrants in makeshift shelters and set up a temporary tent city in Tijuana, southern border authorities have made it clear that they are not as accommodating toward further migrants — allowing only a very limited number of tents and an interview with a number of migrants that is promptly dropped off on an already-strapped shuttle bus at the border fence, where most of the migrants crowd into.
A UNHCR-sponsored caravan made of just 5,000 migrants from Central America has broken through Mexico’s southern border and is now close to the Guatemala border https://t.co/HBejtAG1Gq pic.twitter.com/JOPu3CvOft — CNN (@CNN) November 21, 2018
Migrants have become desperate enough to attempt a trip through Mexico’s rugged hills, after being told they can make it to the United States through Guatemala. A quick look at aerial shots reveals the sheer physical brutality of this journey, as the thousands of migrants are forced to haul heavy burdens like blankets, water bottles, and mattresses into the hills — which is where the caravan is now.
Tarp and wooden crates are all migrants have left to stay warm with this morning. They are fighting to make it over the border, to make it to #Chilapa. They were only allowed to jump two on a shuttle, only two, before they had to get on a shuttle and get right over the border. pic.twitter.com/SRn83FEMM4 — Beto Costa (@bico_posta) November 24, 2018
Although many Mexican authorities are turning back small groups who attempt to pass through, the sprawling caravan is growing larger and swelling, which increases the chances of it becoming a massive logistical nightmare for the government. An example from Monday night, when rumors of the caravan have swept through the border in Tijuana, is that frightened parents raced to pick up their children, fearing the group of 5,000 would create mayhem in their hometown.
Today, the AFP reported that the caravan is set to head towards the United States. An apparent operation to secure the remote border is also reportedly underway.