Central American migrant caravans
{{Short description|Migrant caravan through Mexico}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2019}}
File:Central America's Northern Triangle.svg three countries, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. These countries share a border tripoint at Trifinio Fraternidad Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, and also aspects of classical cultures, history, society, and politics.]]
Central American migrant caravans,{{cite news|last1=Carcamo|first1=Cindy|last2=Repard|first2=Pauline|title=People 'associated with' Central American caravan have entered U.S. illegally, federal officials say|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sd-caravan-20180428-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=29 April 2018|access-date=19 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019025528/http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sd-caravan-20180428-story.html|archive-date=19 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} also known as the {{lang|es|Viacrucis del migrante}} ("Migrant's Way of the Cross"),{{Cite web|url=http://www.pueblosinfronteras.org/viacrucis.html|title=Viacrucis|website=Pueblo Sin Fronteras|access-date=2018-10-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025055312/http://www.pueblosinfronteras.org/viacrucis.html|archive-date=2018-10-25|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Photo gallery: Migrant caravan|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-photo-gallery-migrant-caravan-20180403-photogallery.html|work=Chicago Tribune|date=20 March 2018|access-date=4 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404134820/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-photo-gallery-migrant-caravan-20180403-photogallery.html|archive-date=4 April 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFbiqlExkfo The truth about the caravan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190311210257/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFbiqlExkfo |date=2019-03-11 }} Ami Horowitz documentary, November 12, 2018, Ami Horowitz channel, YouTube are migrant caravans that travel from Central America to the Mexico–United States border to demand asylum in the United States. The largest and best known of these were organized by {{lang|es|Pueblo Sin Fronteras|italic=no}} (A People Without Borders) that set off during Holy Week in early 2017 and 2018 from the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA), but such caravans of migrants began arriving several years earlier, and other unrelated caravans continued to arrive into late 2018.
There is some disagreement as to whether the migrant caravans are primarily composed of refugees seeking asylum or are merely large concentrations of traditional economic migrants. Numerous human rights organizations document the increase in violence and abuse in recent years in Central American countries.{{Cite web|url=https://www.unrefugees.org/emergencies/central-america/|title=Why People Are Fleeing Honduras & Guatemala - Central American Refugee Crisis|website=www.unrefugees.org|access-date=2019-05-19}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.unhcr.org/publications/operations/5630f24c6/women-run.html|title=Women on the Run|last=Refugees|first=United Nations High Commissioner for|website=UNHCR|language=en|access-date=2019-05-19}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/06/central-america-border-immigration/563744/|title=Today's Migrant Flow Is Different|last=Martínez|first=Sofía|date=2018-06-26|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-19}}{{Cite web |last=Entman |first=Liz |date=2018-09-24 |title=Violence at home pushes Central American migrants to U.S. |url=https://www.futurity.org/central-american-migrants-1872742/ |access-date=2019-05-19 |website=Futurity |language=en-US}} A report by the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, cited by Amnesty International, noted that between 2007 and 2012, several Central American countries had the highest average annual female homicide rates in the world, although the average annual male homicide rates in the world are higher.{{Cite web|url=https://www.amnestyusa.org/fleeing-for-our-lives-central-american-migrant-crisis/|title=Fleeing for Our Lives: Central American Migrant Crisis|date=2016-04-01|website=Amnesty International USA|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-19}}{{cite web |title=Global Burden of Armed Violence |url=http://www.genevadeclaration.org/measurability/global-burden-of-armed-violence/global-burden-of-armed-violence-2015.html |website=Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development |access-date=23 May 2019}} Other studies of the composition of the caravans indicated that the caravans more resemble traditional economic migrants. The causes of the migration, as well as the proper way to settle or deport the migrants themselves, remains a source of political debate within the U.S.
Causes of the migration
Drought and crop failure in the Central American dry corridor and climate change in Honduras have been factors in the formation of the caravans.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/climate-change-is-killing-crops-in-honduras-and-driving-farmers-north|title=Climate change is killing crops in Honduras -- and driving farmers north|last1=Biggs|first1=Marcia|last2=Galiano-Rios|first2=Julia|date=2019-04-02|website=PBS NewsHour|language=en-us|access-date=2019-05-04}}{{Cite news |last=Leutert |first=Stephanie |date=November 6, 2018 |title=How climate change is affecting rural Honduras and pushing people north |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/11/06/how-climate-change-is-affecting-rural-honduras-and-pushing-people-north |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=2019-05-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119040557/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/11/06/how-climate-change-is-affecting-rural-honduras-and-pushing-people-north/ |archive-date=19 November 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/caravan-climate-change-story|title=The Caravan is a Climate Change Story|last=Markham|first=Lauren|date=2018-11-09|website=Pulitzer Center|language=en|access-date=2019-05-04}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1191887/icode/|title=Erratic weather patterns in the Central American Dry Corridor leave 1.4 million people in urgent need of food assistance|date=25 April 2019|website=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|language=en|access-date=2019-05-04}}{{Cite book|title=Storming the wall : climate change, migration, and homeland security|last=Miller|first=Todd|publisher=City Lights|year=2017|isbn=9780872867154|location=San Francisco, CA|pages=74–75, 81–96|oclc=959035965|author-link=Todd Miller (journalist)}}
Honduras is one of the poorest and most violent countries in Central America. The country experienced a coup d'état in 2009 and is one of the most unequal countries in the world, while the poverty rate stood at 64.3% in 2018.
According to the newspaper Le Monde, "Caught between extreme poverty and ultra-violence, more and more Hondurans are choosing to flee their country, driven by the most extreme despair". An opposition Honduran politician considers that migrants "do not run after the American dream, they flee the Honduran nightmare".{{Cite news|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/ameriques/article/2018/10/22/le-honduras-un-pays-pris-en-etau-entre-pauvrete-extreme-et-ultraviolence_5373056_3222.html|title=Le Honduras, un pays " pris en étau entre pauvreté extrême et ultraviolence "|newspaper=Le Monde.fr|date=October 22, 2018|via=Le Monde}}
=First caravans=
Discussions of illegal immigration typically claim that there have been many caravans. Those that antedate 2017 were small affairs that did not move as a group to the U.S. border.
{{blockquote|These "Stations of the Cross" migrant caravans have been held in southern Mexico for at least the last five years [2013–2018]. They began as short processions of migrants, some dressed in biblical garb and carrying crosses, as an Easter-season protest against the kidnappings, extortion, beatings and killings suffered by many Central American migrants as they cross Mexico. Individuals in the caravans often try to reach the U.S. border but usually not as part of the caravan. The caravans typically don't proceed much farther north than the Gulf coast state of Veracruz.{{cite news
|title=Trump calls for immigration matters using 'nuclear ootion' [part 2]
|newspaper=Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas)
|date=3 Apr 2018
|page=A5
|via=newspapers.com
|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90471449/trump-and-migrant-policy/}}}}
=2017 caravan=
Pueblo Sin Fronteras supported its first Holy Week caravan in 2017.{{Cite web|date=2018-04-04|title=Refugee Caravan / Viacrucis Guadalupano|url=http://www.pueblosinfronteras.org/refugee_caravan_2017.html|access-date=2021-01-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404073705/http://www.pueblosinfronteras.org/refugee_caravan_2017.html|archive-date=2018-04-04}}
On 25 March 2018, a group of about 700 migrants (80% from Honduras) began their way north from Tapachula.{{cite news|last=Galindo|first=Ramon|title=US: Border Crossing at Capacity, Migrant Caravan Must Wait|url=https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/politics/Migrant-Caravan-Supporters-Rally-in-San-Diego-481156621.html|work=NBC Los Angeles|date=29 April 2018|access-date=8 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107045731/https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/politics/Migrant-Caravan-Supporters-Rally-in-San-Diego-481156621.html|archive-date=7 November 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} By 1 April, the caravan had arrived in Matías Romero, Oaxaca, and grown to about 1,200 people.{{cite news |last=Semple |first=Kirk |date=2 April 2018 |title=Trump Transforms Immigrant Caravans in Mexico Into Cause Célèbre |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/02/world/americas/caravans-migrants-mexico-trump.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=4 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180403192842/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/02/world/americas/caravans-migrants-mexico-trump.html |archive-date=3 April 2018 |df=dmy-all}} In mid-April, 500 migrants continued northward from Mexico City—the caravan's last official stop—toward Tijuana, in separate groups riding atop freight train cars.{{cite news|title=Remnants of migrant caravan resume trek to U.S. border|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/migrant-caravan-mexico-that-irked-donald-trump-resumes-journey-us-border/|date=19 April 2018|work=CBS News|access-date=8 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105211017/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/migrant-caravan-mexico-that-irked-donald-trump-resumes-journey-us-border/|archive-date=5 November 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Two busloads of the migrants arrived in Tijuana on 25 April and a further four busloads were making their way from Hermosillo.{{cite news|title=Caravan migrants, in the hundreds, reach Tijuana on the Mexico-U.S. border|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/caravan-mexico-tijuana-usa-trump-1.4633000|work=CBC News|date=25 April 2018|access-date=25 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426004412/http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/caravan-mexico-tijuana-usa-trump-1.4633000|archive-date=26 April 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} On 29 April 2018, after traveling {{convert|2,500|mi}} across Mexico, the migrants' caravan came to an end in Tijuana, at the Mexico–United States border at Friendship Park.{{cite news |last1=Averbuch |first1=Maya |last2=Partlow |first2=Joshua |date=29 April 2018 |title=At end of migrant caravan on U.S. border, families fear what comes next |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/at-end-of-migrant-caravan-families-fear-what-lies-next/2018/04/29/4f2f9094-4b31-11e8-8082-105a446d19b8_story.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=8 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108222218/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/at-end-of-migrant-caravan-families-fear-what-lies-next/2018/04/29/4f2f9094-4b31-11e8-8082-105a446d19b8_story.html |archive-date=8 November 2018 |df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|last1=Romero|first1=Dennis|last2=Ramos|first2=Annie Rose|last3=Silva|first3=Danielle|title=Border fills to capacity as caravan of migrants arrives, officials say|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/caravan-migrants-has-reached-border-braces-cross-despite-trump-s-n869821|work=NBC News|date=28 April 2018|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023192419/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/caravan-migrants-has-reached-border-braces-cross-despite-trump-s-n869821|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}
More than 150 migrants prepared to seek asylum from United States immigration officials. United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the caravan "a deliberate attempt to undermine our laws and overwhelm our system".{{cite news |last1=Semple |first1=Kirk |last2=Jordon |first2=Miriam |date=29 April 2018 |title=Migrant Caravan of Asylum Seekers Reaches U.S. Border |work=The New York Times |url=https://nytimes.com/2018/04/29/world/americas/mexico-caravan-trump.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=8 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108224804/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/29/world/americas/mexico-caravan-trump.html |archive-date=8 November 2018 |df=dmy-all}} On 30 April, Sessions' Justice Department announced criminal charges against eleven people for crossing the border illegally.{{cite news|last=Siegler|first=Kirk|title=In Tijuana, Migrants Seeking Asylum In The U.S. Tell Harrowing Stories Of Crisis|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/05/02/607726810/in-tijuana-migrants-seeking-asylum-in-the-u-s-tell-harrowing-stories-of-crisis|work=NPR|date=2 May 2018|access-date=8 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105210957/https://www.npr.org/2018/05/02/607726810/in-tijuana-migrants-seeking-asylum-in-the-u-s-tell-harrowing-stories-of-crisis|archive-date=5 November 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}
American aid worker Scott Warren with the organization No More Deaths was arrested on 12 May on charges of illegally harboring people in the country, hours after releasing a report accusing the U.S. Border Patrol of tampering with water sources for migrants crossing the Arizona desert.{{cite news |last=Carranza |first=Rafael |date=12 May 2018 |title=Migrant-aid group says Border Patrol targeted them with arrests |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/border-issues/2018/05/12/border-patrol-targeting-aid-workers-scott-warren-no-more-deaths/587940002/ |url-status=live |access-date=22 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022232637/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/border-issues/2018/05/12/border-patrol-targeting-aid-workers-scott-warren-no-more-deaths/587940002/ |archive-date=22 October 2018 |df=dmy-all}} He pleaded not guilty and was ultimately acquitted in November 2019.{{cite news|title=Trial set for No More Deaths volunteer in immigrant harboring case|url=https://tucson.com/news/local/trial-set-for-no-more-deaths-volunteer-in-immigrant-harboring/article_f8056d38-ad1f-11e8-ae8c-ff9ccb118371.html|work=Arizona Daily Star|agency=The Associated Press|date=31 August 2018|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023120057/https://tucson.com/news/local/trial-set-for-no-more-deaths-volunteer-in-immigrant-harboring/article_f8056d38-ad1f-11e8-ae8c-ff9ccb118371.html|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web|url=https://www.statepress.com/article/2019/11/sppolitics-scott-warren-found-not-guilty|title=Former ASU faculty associate Scott Warren not guilty in harboring trial|last=Stewart|first=Savannah|date=November 20, 2019|website=The State Press|access-date=April 18, 2020}}
Late 2018 caravan
Migrants from Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador gathered on 12 October to meet at San Pedro Sula, the second largest city in Honduras. The caravan began the next day, intending to reach the United States to flee from violence, poverty, and political repression.{{cite news|title=Hondureños inician caravana migrante desde San Pedro Sula rumbo a Estados Unidos|url=https://www.elheraldo.hn/pais/1224307-466/hondure%C3%B1os-inician-caravana-migrante-desde-san-pedro-sula-rumbo-a-estados-unidos|work=El Heraldo (Honduras)|language=es|date=13 October 2018|access-date=19 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020011718/https://www.elheraldo.hn/pais/1224307-466/hondure%C3%B1os-inician-caravana-migrante-desde-san-pedro-sula-rumbo-a-estados-unidos|archive-date=20 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|title=¿De qué huyen los migrantes de la caravana?|url=https://plumasatomicas.com/explicandolanoticia/otra-caravana-migrante-intenta-cruzar-el-pais-para-llegar-a-estados-unidos/|work=Plumas Atómicas|language=es|date=18 October 2018|access-date=21 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021232323/https://plumasatomicas.com/explicandolanoticia/otra-caravana-migrante-intenta-cruzar-el-pais-para-llegar-a-estados-unidos/|archive-date=21 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} The caravan began with about 160 migrants but quickly gathered over 500 participants as it marched through Honduras.{{cite news|title=Más de mil hondureños salieron en caravana hacia Estados Unidos|url=http://www.latribuna.hn/2018/10/13/mas-de-mil-hondurenos-salieron-en-caravana-hacia-estados-unidos/|work=La Tribuna|language=es|date=13 October 2018|access-date=22 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022154952/http://www.latribuna.hn/2018/10/13/mas-de-mil-hondurenos-salieron-en-caravana-hacia-estados-unidos/|archive-date=22 October 2018|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} Bartolo Fuentes, a former Honduran congressman and one of the march coordinators, stated that the goal of the caravan was to find safety in numbers as it traveled north.{{cite news|title=Parte una nueva caravana con cientos de migrantes hondureños hacia México y EEUU|url=https://www.univision.com/noticias/inmigracion/parte-una-nueva-caravana-con-cientos-de-migrantes-hondurenos-hacia-mexico-y-eeuu|work=Univision|language=es|date=12 October 2018|access-date=22 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022232621/https://www.univision.com/noticias/inmigracion/parte-una-nueva-caravana-con-cientos-de-migrantes-hondurenos-hacia-mexico-y-eeuu|archive-date=22 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Though he was at first convinced that the caravan was a spontaneous movement, Fuentes has since told several news agencies that the caravan was organized and popularized through a faked social media account bearing his own name and photograph, which has since been deleted from Facebook. Fuentes says he first heard about the fake account from Irineo Mujica of the organization Pueblo Sin Fronteras.{{cite news |last1=Bensinger |first1=Ken |last2=Zabludovsky |first2=Karla |date=6 December 2018 |title=A Mysterious Imposter Account Was Used On Facebook To Drum Up Support For The Migrant Caravan |language=en |work=BuzzFeed |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kenbensinger/a-mysterious-imposter-account-was-used-on-facebook-to-drum |url-status=live |access-date=28 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181228174855/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kenbensinger/a-mysterious-imposter-account-was-used-on-facebook-to-drum |archive-date=28 December 2018 |df=dmy-all}} The same day it left, United States Vice President Mike Pence urged the presidents of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala to persuade their citizens to stay home.{{cite web |last=Lakhani |first=Nina |date=6 April 2018 |title='Yes, we can': caravan of 1,600 Honduran migrants crosses Guatemala border |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/15/guatemala-caravan-honduras-migrants-border-reject |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017022719/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/15/guatemala-caravan-honduras-migrants-border-reject |archive-date=17 October 2018 |access-date=17 October 2018 |work=The Guardian |df=dmy-all}} Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández advised his citizens to return home and to "not let yourselves be used for political purposes".{{cite news|title=Presidente de Honduras: "No se dejan usar para fines políticos, no pongan en riesgo sus vidas"|url=https://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/1225387-410/joh-pronuncia-ante-caravana-inmigrantes-hondure%C3%B1os-rumbo-eeuu|work=La Prensa|language=es|date=16 October 2018|access-date=22 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022232629/https://www.laprensa.hn/honduras/1225387-410/joh-pronuncia-ante-caravana-inmigrantes-hondure%C3%B1os-rumbo-eeuu|archive-date=22 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Pueblo Sin Fronteras did not organize the October caravan, but expressed its solidarity with it. Irineo Mujico, the director of Pueblo Sin Fronteras, did not himself recommend another caravan to the United States, instead advising its members to seek asylum in Mexico.{{cite news|title=Pueblo Sin Fronteras apoya pero no recomienda otra caravana de hondureños|url=https://www.laprensa.hn/mundo/1225398-410/pueblo-sin-fronteras-apoya-pero-no-recomienda-otra-caravana-estos-tiempos-honduras-migrantes|work=La Prensa|date=16 October 2018|access-date=22 October 2018|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022113225/https://www.laprensa.hn/mundo/1225398-410/pueblo-sin-fronteras-apoya-pero-no-recomienda-otra-caravana-estos-tiempos-honduras-migrantes|archive-date=22 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}
File:Caravana Migrante en la Ciudad de México -- 16.jpgAs the caravan passed through the Guatemalan city of Chiquimula, Fuentes was arrested by police and deported.{{cite news|title=Bartolo Fuentes ha sido trasladado a un albergue de ciudad Guatemala|url=https://criterio.hn/2018/10/16/bartolo-fuentes-ha-sido-trasladado-a-un-albergue-de-ciudad-guatemala/|work=Criterio.hn|language=es|date=16 October 2018|access-date=22 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022234002/https://criterio.hn/2018/10/16/bartolo-fuentes-ha-sido-trasladado-a-un-albergue-de-ciudad-guatemala/|archive-date=22 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Other Hondurans, traveling on buses, had their papers seized or were arrested, forcing migrants to travel on foot.{{cite news|last=Barrera|first=Whitmer|title=Migrantes hondureños llegan a Tecún Umán y varios cruzan hacia México por el río Suchiate|url=https://www.prensalibre.com/ciudades/san-marcos/migrantes-hondurenos-llegan-a-tecun-uman-y-varios-cruzan-hacia-mexico-por-el-rio-suchiate|work=Prensa Libre|language=es|date=18 October 2018|access-date=19 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018020236/https://www.prensalibre.com/ciudades/san-marcos/migrantes-hondurenos-llegan-a-tecun-uman-y-varios-cruzan-hacia-mexico-por-el-rio-suchiate|archive-date=18 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} On entering Tecún Umán on 18 October 2018, the caravan numbered around 5,000, but began shrinking due to the speed of parts of the caravan and its reception in shelters in Tecún Umán.{{cite news|last=Martínez|first=Carlos|title=La caravana de migrantes hondureños colapsa los albergues en Guatemala|url=https://www.elfaro.net/es/201810/centroamerica/22591/La-caravana-de-migrantes-hondure%C3%B1os-colapsa-los-albergues-en-Guatemala.htm|work=El Faro|language=es|date=19 October 2018|access-date=19 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020011655/https://www.elfaro.net/es/201810/centroamerica/22591/La-caravana-de-migrantes-hondure%C3%B1os-colapsa-los-albergues-en-Guatemala.htm|archive-date=20 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} The same day, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the U.S. military and close the U.S.–Mexico border to keep the caravan from entering the country.{{cite news|last1=Durkin|first1=Erin|last2=Lakhani|first2=Nina|title=Trump threatens to close US-Mexico border over Honduran migrant caravan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/oct/18/trump-threatens-to-close-us-mexico-border-over-migrant-caravan|work=The Guardian|date=18 October 2018|access-date=20 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019205919/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/oct/18/trump-threatens-to-close-us-mexico-border-over-migrant-caravan|archive-date=19 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Trump also threatened to cut aid to countries allowing the caravans to pass through.{{cite news|title=Migrant caravan: Mexico sends police to southern border|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45910779|work=BBC News|date=19 October 2018|access-date=20 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019184313/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45910779|archive-date=19 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Also on 18 October, Mexico flew two Boeing 727s transporting Federal Police officers to the Guatemala–Mexico border.{{cite news|title=Mexican government sends federal police to intercept caravan of U.S.-bound migrants|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/10/17/mexican-government-sends-federal-police-stop-caravan-u-s-bound-migrants/1674954002/|date=18 October 2018|work=USA Today|access-date=22 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022102236/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/10/17/mexican-government-sends-federal-police-stop-caravan-u-s-bound-migrants/1674954002/|archive-date=22 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} The next day, 19 October, an estimated 4,000 migrants had gathered in Ciudad Tecún Umán in Guatemala. Mexican officials, including the ambassador to Guatemala, requested that migrants appear individually at the border for processing. The migrants ignored the request, and marched on the bridge, overwhelming Guatemalan police and Mexican barriers on the bridge, then entered Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas, and encountered Federal Police in riot gear. After an hour-long standoff with police, whom migrants threw shoes and stones at, tear gas was used to push the migrants back onto the bridge. Officials reported that at least six Mexican police officers had been injured. After hostilities ended, migrants formed into lines and began processing by Mexican authorities. By the mid-afternoon, migrants were allowed entry in Mexico and were taken by bus to Tapachula. According to the Commissioner of the Federal Police, Manelich Castilla Craviotto, this was for processing and shelter. Migrants with valid visas and documentation were allowed immediate entrance, while asylum-seekers would be detained in a migration center for 45 days.{{cite news |last1=Averbuch |first1=Maya |last2=Semple |first2=Kirk |date=19 October 2018 |title=As Trump Assails Caravan, a Clash Between Migrants and Mexico Police |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/19/world/americas/caravan-mexico-guatemala.html |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=22 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022080706/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/19/world/americas/caravan-mexico-guatemala.html |archive-date=22 October 2018 |df=dmy-all}}File:Caravana Migrante en la Ciudad de México - 1.jpg On 20 October, about 2,000 migrants who had crossed the Suchiate River and entered Ciudad Hidalgo decided to rebuild the caravan to continue their trek to the United States.{{cite news |last1=Averbuch |first1=Maya |last2=Semple |first2=Kirk |date=20 October 2018 |title=Migrant Caravan Continues North, Defying Mexico and U.S. |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/20/world/americas/migrants-caravan-mexico.html |url-status=live |access-date=21 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103185726/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/20/world/americas/migrants-caravan-mexico.html |archive-date=3 January 2021 }} The caravan again resumed its march early on 21 October from Tapachula. A force of 700 Federal Police officers, mostly women, formed a human barricade on the Suchiate–Tapachula highway, but withdrew as the 5,000-strong caravan of migrants came within {{convert|200|m|ft|sp=us}}. By the afternoon, the migrants reached Tapachula and its leaders decided to rest there, {{convert|40|km|mi|sp=us}} inside Mexico.{{cite news |last=Richards |first=Tony |date=21 October 2018 |title=Attempts to stop migrants fail; 5,000 enter MX, begin march north |work=Mexico News Daily |url=https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/attempts-to-stop-migrants-fail/ |url-status=live |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023120354/https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/attempts-to-stop-migrants-fail/ |archive-date=23 October 2018 |df=dmy-all}} Their march began again the next day, bound for Huixtla, another {{convert|40|km}} away from Tapachula. Simultaneously, Guatemalan officials reported that another thousand migrants entered the country from Honduras, while another 1,000 migrants were reported making for Tapachula from Ciudad Hidalgo.{{cite news|title=5,000 migrants camped out in Chiapas last night and resumed their march today|url=https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/5000-migrants-camped-out-in-chiapas-last-night/|work=Mexico Daily News|date=22 October 2018|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105211535/https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/5000-migrants-camped-out-in-chiapas-last-night/|archive-date=5 November 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}
Irineo Mujica was arrested in Ciudad Hidalgo on 22 October while walking with a group of migrants to a church. Mujica was pulled out of a crowd of migrants by Mexican authorities and pushed into a white van. According to Pueblo Sin Fronteras, he was not involved in organizing the caravan and was conducting humanitarian work in Tapachula.{{cite news|title=Phoenix activist arrested in southern Mexico while participating in migrant caravan|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/10/22/migrant-caravan-phoenix-activist-irineo-mujica-arrested-mexico/1725475002/|work=USA Today|date=22 October 2018|access-date=22 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022143936/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/10/22/migrant-caravan-phoenix-activist-irineo-mujica-arrested-mexico/1725475002/|archive-date=22 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Mujica has since claimed that he and Pueblo Sin Fronteras were initially opposed to the timing of this migrant caravan, because they believed it would be used to build anti-immigration sentiment during the 2018 US midterm election.
Also on 22 October, President Donald Trump said the U.S. would begin curtailing tens of millions of dollars in aid to three Central American nations, because they did not stop the caravan.{{Cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-23/trump-vows-to-cut-central-american-aid-as-migrants-march-on/10417830|title=Trump to cut Central American aid as 7,200-strong caravan continues march north|date=23 October 2018|work=ABC News|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023223841/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-23/trump-vows-to-cut-central-american-aid-as-migrants-march-on/10417830|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45933845|title=Trump vows to cut aid over migrant caravan|date=2018-10-22|work=BBC News|access-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023000842/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45933845|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} President Trump also threatened to send the U.S. military to close the border and stop the caravan.{{Cite news |last1=Burnett |first1=John |last2=Wamsley |first2=Laurel |date=October 18, 2018 |title=As Caravan Of Migrants Heads North, Trump Threatens To Close Southern U.S. Border |work=NPR |publisher= |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/10/18/658607385/as-caravan-of-migrants-heads-north-trump-threatens-to-close-southern-u-s-border |url-status=live |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022185523/https://www.npr.org/2018/10/18/658607385/as-caravan-of-migrants-heads-north-trump-threatens-to-close-southern-u-s-border |archive-date=22 October 2018 |df=dmy-all}}File:Caravana Migrante en la Ciudad de México - 7.jpg On 26 October, when the caravan was in the Arriaga Municipality of the state of Chiapas, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto unveiled his program entitled "Estás en tu casa" ("You are at home").{{cite web|title='Estás en tu casa', dice Peña Nieto a migrantes; ofrece trabajo, salud y educación a centroamericanos|url=https://vanguardia.com.mx/articulo/estas-en-tu-casa-dice-pena-nieto-migrantes-ofrece-trabajo-salud-y-educacion|website=Vanguardia MX|date=26 October 2018 |access-date=27 October 2018|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028033840/https://vanguardia.com.mx/articulo/estas-en-tu-casa-dice-pena-nieto-migrantes-ofrece-trabajo-salud-y-educacion|archive-date=28 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} This initiative allows caravan migrants meeting certain criteria to receive benefits and begin to normalize their immigration status in Mexico. Migrants who follow Mexican laws and are granted refugee status will, according to the plan, be entitled to temporary work permits and IDs, medical attention, housing in local establishments, and schooling for children.{{cite news|title=Migrant caravan: Mexico offers temporary work permits|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45999610|work=BBC News|date=27 October 2018|access-date=27 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181027014834/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45999610|archive-date=27 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} In order to qualify, however, migrants must agree to settle in the states of Chiapas or Oaxaca and not continue to move north.
As the second caravan entered Mexico on 30 October, the main body of some 4,000 migrants, at Santiago Niltepec, demanded "safe and dignified" transportation to Mexico City. Migrants still crossing into Mexico over the Suchiate river were dissuaded by Mexican helicopters and police.{{cite news|last1=Sherman|first1=Christoper|last2=Billy|first2=Santiago|title=Migrant caravan demands transport as 2nd group enters Mexico|url=https://www.apnews.com/bd8bbd8a0f1543dea4e82cd69c520a01|work=Associated Press|date=30 October 2018|access-date=30 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030085221/https://apnews.com/bd8bbd8a0f1543dea4e82cd69c520a01|archive-date=30 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}
{{blockquote|"The fact that the first of these caravans was able to move from Honduras into Guatemala and then into Mexico is inspiring other migrants to travel in large groups, reversing the long-established logic of Central American migration to the United States: Rather than trying to travel undetected, some migrants are trading invisibility for safety in numbers."
- Kirk Semple and Elisabeth Malkin for The New York Times, 31 October 2018{{cite news|last1=Semple|first1=KirK|last2=Malkin|first2=Elisabeth|title=New Migrant Caravans Trek North, Ignoring Political Repercussions|work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/world/americas/migrant-caravans-border-mexico-usa.html|date=31 October 2018|access-date=2 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101110111/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/world/americas/migrant-caravans-border-mexico-usa.html|archive-date=1 November 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} "...at least 100 were "kidnapped" (exhausted walkers were lured into vehicles) in the state of Puebla and allegedly handed over to the Zetas gang..."{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/06/100-people-kidnapped-migrant-caravan-drug-cartels-mexico/|title=100 people 'kidnapped' from migrant caravan by drug cartels in Mexico|first=Deborah|last=Bonello|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=6 November 2018|access-date=11 November 2018|via=www.telegraph.co.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110182213/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/06/100-people-kidnapped-migrant-caravan-drug-cartels-mexico/|archive-date=10 November 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}}}
Some scientists contend that the impact of climate change is causing crop failures and exacerbating poverty in Central America, thereby creating what the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has called "climate refugees."{{cite web |title=Climate Change and Disaster Displacement |url=https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/climate-change-and-disasters.html |website=UNHCR |access-date=23 May 2019}} According to Robert Albro, a researcher at the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at American University, "The main reason people are moving is because they don't have anything to eat. This has a strong link to climate change – we are seeing tremendous climate instability that is radically changing food security in the region."{{cite news |last1=Milman |first1=Oliver |last2=Holden |first2=Emily |last3=Agren |first3=David |title=The unseen driver behind the migrant caravan: climate change |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/30/migrant-caravan-causes-climate-change-central-america |access-date=May 17, 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=October 30, 2018}}
=Table=
{{anchor|table}}
=Border actions=
File:SanYsidroBorderCrossingByPhilKonstantin.jpg
A week before the 2018 midterm elections, the US Government sent 5,200 active-duty soldiers to the US-Mexico border to "harden" it further. 2,100 National Guard troops were already present.{{cite news|last1=Gomez|first1=Alan|last2=Jansen|first2=Bart|title=Pentagon to deploy 5,200 active duty troops to U.S.-Mexico border to halt migrant caravan|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/10/29/migrant-caravan-troops-border/1805864002/|work=USA Today|access-date=30 October 2018|date=29 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029230334/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/10/29/migrant-caravan-troops-border/1805864002/|archive-date=29 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}
On November 23, mayor of Tijuana Juan Manuel Gastélum declared a "humanitarian crisis" in response to the large number of migrants in the city.{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=Mexico: Tijuana declares humanitarian crisis over migrant caravan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/24/mexico-tijuana-declares-humanitarian-crisis-over-migrant-caravan |access-date=25 November 2018 |work=the Guardian |date=24 November 2018 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124234506/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/24/mexico-tijuana-declares-humanitarian-crisis-over-migrant-caravan |archive-date=24 November 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }} By this date, over 5,000 members of the caravan were staying at the Tijuana Stadium— a structure with a capacity of 3,000.{{cite news |title=US closes major border crossing, uses tear gas on asylum seekers |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/closes-major-border-crossing-tear-gas-asylum-seekers-181125202719823.html |access-date=2 December 2018 |work=www.aljazeera.com |date=25 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202082334/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/closes-major-border-crossing-tear-gas-asylum-seekers-181125202719823.html |archive-date=2 December 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}
On November 25, a group of approximately 500 migrants marched to the San Ysidro Port of Entry to demand answers. Frustrated by the slow pace of asylum application processing (approximately 60 per day) and the dire living conditions in their tent cities, they attempted to bypass the Mexican Federal Police to reach the border wall when a commotion occurred.{{cite journal |journal=The Week |date=December 7, 2018 |volume=18 |issue=902 |page=4 |title=Chaos on the U.S.-Mexico Border}} A member of the caravan was caught on video throwing rocks at border agents while at the border wall. In response, the United States Border Patrol launched tear gas over the border at the group, which included women and children, and subsequently shut down the crossing for six hours.{{cite news |title=US closes major border crossing, uses tear gas on asylum seekers |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/closes-major-border-crossing-tear-gas-asylum-seekers-181125202719823.html |access-date=25 November 2018 |work=www.aljazeera.com |date=25 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126011040/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/closes-major-border-crossing-tear-gas-asylum-seekers-181125202719823.html |archive-date=26 November 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }} Photographs of the incident received significant media attention and sparked extensive international commentary. 42 migrants were arrested, and a total of 4 Border agents were struck by rocks.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/official-no-one-arrested-in-border-clash-will-be-prosecuted/2018/11/29/98c211c4-f43b-11e8-99c2-cfca6fcf610c_story.html |title=Official: No one arrested in border clash will be prosecuted - the Washington Post |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2018-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130212500/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/official-no-one-arrested-in-border-clash-will-be-prosecuted/2018/11/29/98c211c4-f43b-11e8-99c2-cfca6fcf610c_story.html |archive-date=2018-11-30 |url-status=dead }}
=Political reaction in the U.S.=
In the United States, the migrant caravan was a major issue for President Donald Trump and other Republicans and conservatives in the 2018 midterm elections. Immigrant invasion rhetoric and George Soros conspiracy theories were used by conservative commentators on Fox News. The caravan was described as an "invading horde" by Laura Ingraham, an "invasion" by Steve Doocy, "a full-scale invasion by a hostile force" by Michelle Malkin,{{cite news|last1=Folkenflik|first1=David|title=Tensions Rise At Fox News Over Coverage And Rhetoric Surrounding Migrant Caravan|newspaper=NPR.org|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/10/30/662253600/tensions-rise-at-fox-news-over-coverage-and-rhetoric-surrounding-migrant-caravan|publisher=NPR|access-date=31 October 2018|date=30 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030234318/https://www.npr.org/2018/10/30/662253600/tensions-rise-at-fox-news-over-coverage-and-rhetoric-surrounding-migrant-caravan|archive-date=30 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} "a criminal involvement on the part of these leftist mobs" and "a highly organized, very elaborate sophisticated operation" by Chris Farrell.{{cite web|last1=ANAPOL|first1=AVERY|title=Fox Business drops guest who blamed migrant caravan on 'Soros-occupied State Department'|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/413542-fox-business-exec-condemns-rhetoric-of-guest-who-blamed-migrant-caravan-on|website=The Hill|access-date=31 October 2018|date=28 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030144147/https://thehill.com/homenews/media/413542-fox-business-exec-condemns-rhetoric-of-guest-who-blamed-migrant-caravan-on|archive-date=30 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} According to closed captioning transcripts, the word "invasion" was used in relation to the caravan more than 60 times on Fox News in October 2018 and more than 75 times on Fox Business.{{cite news|last1=Stelter|first1=Brian|title=Pittsburgh suspect echoed talking point that dominated Fox News airwaves|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/29/media/pittsburgh-suspect-invasion/index.html|access-date=1 November 2018|agency=CNN Business|date=30 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101005725/https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/29/media/pittsburgh-suspect-invasion/index.html|archive-date=1 November 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Commentators noted that mentions of the caravan by Fox News dropped dramatically immediately following the 2018 midterm elections.{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2018/11/7/18071658/fox-news-caravan-midterm-elections|title=Fox News barely mentions "the caravan" the morning after the midterms|access-date=11 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111043858/https://www.vox.com/2018/11/7/18071658/fox-news-caravan-midterm-elections|archive-date=11 November 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all|date=2018-11-07}}{{cite web|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90264782/now-that-the-elections-over-fox-news-and-trump-seem-to-have-lost-interest-in-the-caravan|title=Now that the election's over, Fox News and Trump seem to have lost interest in the caravan|date=8 November 2018|access-date=11 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111043729/https://www.fastcompany.com/90264782/now-that-the-elections-over-fox-news-and-trump-seem-to-have-lost-interest-in-the-caravan|archive-date=11 November 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.com/mtp-daily/watch/fox-news-coverage-of-the-caravan-drops-after-midterm-election-1365537347986?v=raila&|title=Fox News' coverage of the caravan drops after midterm election|website=MSNBC|access-date=11 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110224323/https://www.msnbc.com/mtp-daily/watch/fox-news-coverage-of-the-caravan-drops-after-midterm-election-1365537347986?v=raila&|archive-date=10 November 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}
Disinformation was promoted by Trump and supporters including the claim that there were "criminals and unknown Middle Easterners" in the caravan, despite the lack of any publicized evidence for this charge.{{cite journal|last1=Serwer|first1=Adam|title=Trump's Caravan Hysteria Led to This|journal=The Atlantic|date=28 October 2018|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/caravan-lie-sparked-massacre-american-jews/574213/|access-date=28 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028194312/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/caravan-lie-sparked-massacre-american-jews/574213/|archive-date=28 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}} Likewise, Vice President Pence in an interview with Fox News stated:
{{blockquote|What the president of Honduras told me is that the caravan was organized by leftist organizations, political activists within Honduras, and he said it was being funded by outside groups, and even from Venezuela ... So the American people, I think, see through this—they understand this is not a spontaneous caravan of vulnerable people.{{cite web|last1=Doocy|first1=Peter|title=Mike Pence claims he's learned migrant caravan funded by 'outside groups'|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mike-pence-claims-hes-learned-migrant-caravan-funded-by-outside-groups|publisher=Fox News|access-date=28 October 2018|date=27 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181027142400/https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mike-pence-claims-hes-learned-migrant-caravan-funded-by-outside-groups|archive-date=27 October 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}}}
The president of Honduras at the time, Juan Orlando Hernández, was a member of the right-wing National party{{Cite web|last=Digital|first=Libertad|title=Él problema de la reelección ¿Cómo JOH logro inscribirse? – Libertad Digital|url=http://libertaddigitalhn.com/politica/el-problema-de-la-reeleccion-como-joh-logro-inscribirse/|access-date=2021-01-15|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221195830/http://libertaddigitalhn.com/politica/el-problema-de-la-reeleccion-como-joh-logro-inscribirse/|archive-date=December 21, 2016}} and an opponent of the Venezuelan government led by Nicolás Maduro.{{Cite web|title=Comunicado del Grupo de Lima|url=https://www.gob.pe/institucion/rree/noticias/27970-comunicado-del-grupo-de-lima|access-date=2021-01-15|website=www.gob.pe|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430211940/https://www.gob.pe/institucion/rree/noticias/27970-comunicado-del-grupo-de-lima|archive-date=April 30, 2019|url-status=live}}
The Twitter account of the Department of Homeland Security "confirmed" that within the caravan there were people who are "gang members or have significant criminal histories," but did not offer any evidence of ties. NRATV alleged that "a bevy of left-wing groups" were working with George Soros and the Venezuelan government "to try to influence the 2018 midterms by sending Honduran migrants north in the thousands".
On November 2, 2018, five days before the election, the Department of Homeland Security website issued a press release, "Myth vs. Fact: Caravan", stating that "over 270 individuals along the caravan route have criminal histories, including known gang membership". It cited no sources for the specific numbers and crimes claimed, but did cite Mexican officials to back up their claim that the caravan contained criminal groups.{{Cite news|url=https://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/11/01/myth-vs-fact-caravan|title=Myth vs. Fact: Caravan|date=2018-11-01|work=Department of Homeland Security|access-date=2018-11-02|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102023253/https://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/11/01/myth-vs-fact-caravan|archive-date=2018-11-02|url-status=live}} The DHS also claimed the caravan contained migrants from Afghanistan, Somalia, India and Bangladesh, though they didn't cite any sources.
One study by the National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) at the University of Southern California and the Institute for Defense Analyses stated that the Central American immigrants traveling to the U.S. and claiming asylum had more in common with economic migrants than traditional refugees.{{cite news |last1=Dinan |first1=Stephen |title=Caravan mostly standard illegal immigrants, not refugees fleeing violence |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/nov/28/migrant-caravan-mostly-standard-illegal-immigrants/ |access-date=31 March 2019 |agency=The Washington Times |date=November 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331192140/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/nov/28/migrant-caravan-mostly-standard-illegal-immigrants/ |archive-date=31 March 2019 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }} Both groups receive funding or sponsorship from the US government.{{Cite web|date=2009-07-06|title=Centers of Excellence|url=https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/centers-excellence|access-date=2021-01-15|website=Department of Homeland Security|language=en-us|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109223146/https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/centers-excellence|archive-date=January 9, 2015|url-status=usurped}}{{Cite book|last1=Taylor|first1=Maxwell D|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/32111713|title=Case study of a "think tank": the Institute for Defense Analyses|publisher=Institute for Defense Analyses|date=1968|location=Alexandria, VA|language=English|oclc=32111713}}
=Reactions in Mexico=
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said: "Obviously, we have to help because Central American migrants pass through our territory and we have to bring order to this migration, make sure it's legal."{{cite news |title=Mexican president wants to 'bring order' to Central American migration to U.S. |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-mexico/mexican-president-wants-to-bring-order-to-central-american-migration-to-u-s-idUSKCN1RD2IT |work=Reuters |date=April 1, 2019}}
Initially positive, the Mexican public's sentiment soured rapidly. El Universal{{'s}} October 2018 survey found that 64.5% of the Mexican public believed that Central American migrants increased violence or unemployment; this figure increased to 73% in the following month's survey. 56% of the public believed that López Obrador needs to be "tougher" on future migrants.{{cite news |title=No bienvenidos. México cambia sobre migrantes |url=https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/se-desploma-el-apoyo-de-mexicanos-migrantes |work=El Universal |date=November 25, 2018}}
The 2019 survey found that 58% of Mexican respondents oppose migration from Central America.{{cite news |title=Shocking photo of drowned father and daughter highlights migrants' border peril |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/25/photo-drowned-migrant-daughter-rio-grande-us-mexico-border |work=The Guardian |date=June 26, 2019}}
Late 2020 caravans
As the United States prepared for elections in 2020 unknown groups promoted messages on social media sites for another caravan.{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/migrant-caravan-sets-off-honduras-guatamala-mexico-eyes-on-us-border-immigration/ |title=Migrant caravan sets off from Honduras with eyes on U.S. border |date=1 October 2020 |website=www.cbsnews.com |publisher=CBS/AP |access-date=1 October 2020}}
In October 2020, migrant caravans from Honduras were either intercepted by Guatemalan Army officers and deported back to Honduras upon reaching the border crossings, or evaded border restrictions and reached Guatemala City, with intent to continue their journey to Mexico. The Mexican military and border police have repeatedly warned that no migrant caravans will be allowed to cross into Mexico.
Early 2021 caravans
After Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election, there was a resurgence in migrant caravan activities. Fox News claimed this to be related to Biden's planned amnesty for undocumented immigrants within his first 100 days in office.{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/bidens-pledge-to-suspend-deportations-for-100-days-behind-migrant-caravan|title=Biden's pledge to suspend deportations may be behind migrant caravan|website=www.foxnews.com |publisher=Fox News Channel |access-date= 19 January 2020}}
On January 13, just one week prior to the Joe Biden's presidential inauguration, more than 3,000 people departed Honduras and El Salvador for the United States. That number grew to approximately 7,000-8,000 one week later.{{cite news |url=https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/migrant-caravan-departs-for-u-s-clash-with-central-american-forces|title=Migrant caravan departs for U.S., clash with Central American forces|website=www.10news.com |publisher=KGTV |access-date= 19 January 2020}}
On January 16, Guatemala and Mexico deployed the military to their borders, in an attempt to stop the migrant caravan from transiting through their countries on the way to the United States.{{cite web|title=Guatemalan troops forcibly clear migrant caravan from highway|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/18/guatemala-troops-migrant-caravan-honduras|work=The Guardian|access-date= May 16, 2020|date=January 26, 2021}}{{cite web|title=The caravan hoped for change. But it's not all up to Biden.|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2021/0126/The-caravan-hoped-for-change.-But-it-s-not-all-up-to-Biden|publisher= Sandra Cuffe and Whitney Eulich|access-date= May 16, 2020|date=January 18, 2021}} Three days later, the migrant caravans reportedly dissolved in the Guatemalan-Honduran border region, and most its participants were deported back to Honduras.{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/large-migrant-caravan-dissolves-guatemala-n1254761|title=Large migrant caravan dissolves in Guatemala|website=www.nbcnews.com |publisher=NBC/AP |access-date= 19 January 2020}}{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-19/guatemala-breaks-up-migrant-caravan-and-deports-thousands?srnd=markets-vp|title=Guatemala Breaks Up Migrant Caravan and Deports Thousands|website=www.bloomberg.com |publisher=Bloomberg News |access-date= 19 January 2020}}
2022 caravans
From June 2022, up to 15,000 migrants, mostly from Central America and Venezuela, set out from the southern Mexico city of Tapachula in a caravan bound to the United States. {{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/03/migrant-caravan-tapachula-mexico-biden | title=Up to 15,000 may join largest ever migrant caravan to walk through Mexico to US | website=TheGuardian.com | date=3 June 2022 }}{{cite web | url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/migrants-walk-north-southern-mexico-protest-86070527 | title=Migrants walk north from southern Mexico in protest | website=ABC News }} On 5 July, a caravan of almost 7,000 people departed from Tapachula. They broke up in Huixtla after two days.{{cite web | url=https://www.borderreport.com/immigration/latest-migrant-caravan-breaks-up-in-mexico-after-2-days | title=Latest migrant caravan breaks up in Mexico after 2 days | date=5 July 2022 }}
On 11 December 2022, a migrant caravan of over 1,000 people crossed illegally into El Paso from Ciudad Juarez.{{cite web | url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/hundreds-of-migrants-wait-to-cross-rio-grande-to-texas-after-cbp-sent-20-buses-back-to-mexico/ar-AA15aw0c | title=Hundreds of migrants wait to cross Rio Grande to Texas after CBP sent 20 buses back to Mexico | website=MSN }}
2023–2024 caravans
In April and May 2023, caravans of between 2,000 and 3,000 people departed from Tapachula.{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/23/migrants-mexico-protest-march-00093423 |title=3,000 migrants begin walk north from southern Mexico |website=Politico |date=23 April 2023}} In October, another caravan of 4,000 people departed from Tapachula.{{cite web | url=https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-10-31/migrant-caravan-of-4000-people-departs-tapachula-in-southern-mexico.html | title=Migrant caravan of 4,000 people departs Tapachula in southern Mexico | date=31 October 2023 }}
In December 2023, a migrant caravan called "Exodus for Poverty" totaled between 8,000 and 10,000 arrived in the Mexican state of Chiapas. In January 2024, nearly 2,000 migrants arrived in Oaxaca.{{cite web |title=Migrant caravan disbanded in southern Mexico |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/migrant-caravan-disbanded-in-southern-mexico/3119414 |website=PoliticoAnadolu Agency |date=26 January 2024}}
See also
{{div col|colwidth=23em}}
- 2014 American immigration crisis
- Asylum in the United States
- Brooks County, Texas
- European migrant crisis
- Illegal immigration to the United States
- List of Mexico–United States border crossings
- The Mariel boatlift
- Mexico–United States border crisis
- Missing in Brooks County
- Operation Faithful Patriot
- El tren de la muerte
- Vietnamese boat people
{{div col end}}
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite book
|title=No Queda de Otra. An Exploration of the Root Causes of Migration to the Southern Border
|publisher=Hope Border Institute
|location=El Paso, Texas
|year=2021
|url=https://www.hopeborder.org/_files/ugd/e07ba9_f346628acfbf43fbb99372068f46cd0a.pdf}}
External links
- [http://www.trbimg.com/img-585d6d1f/turbine/la-trek-mexico-graphic Map: From Africa to Tijuana]
:via: São Paulo, crossing the Darién Gap on foot, across the Rio Suchiate to Tapachula, and to Tijuana.
:at: {{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-fg-immigration-trek-america-mexico/|title=Traversing the Rio Suchiate: Between Africa and the U.S., an illicit river crossing in Latin America|first=Gary|last=Coronado|date=23 December 2016|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=8 November 2018}}
{{Immigration to the United States}}
{{North America topic|Asylum in}}
Category:Illegal immigration to the United States
Category:Immigration to Mexico
Category:International volunteer organizations
Category:2018 in international relations
Category:2018 in American politics
Category:Immigration policy of Donald Trump
Category:Mexico–United States relations
Category:Mexico–United States border
Category:Honduras–United States relations
Category:Northern Triangle refugee crisis
Category:Guatemalan emigrants to the United States
Category:Honduran emigrants to the United States
Category:Salvadoran emigrants to the United States
Category:2018 in North America
Category:2018 in Central America