Over two thousand migrants and refugees from Haiti, South and Central America are making
the desperate journey north--from southern Mexico to the US border.
Many of them were stranded in Mexico for months waiting for their asylum
claims to be processed--before deciding to take matters into their own hands.
Thousands of refugees and migrants trekking by foot out of southern Mexico.
This is one of many caravans where people join together
with hopes of getting to the United States. Most of them from Haiti, Honduras and El Salvador
have been waiting here for asylum papers to be processed. But now say, they've lost patience.
"Many Nicaraguans have been detained here for 6, 7 or 8 months…we've
been locked up here for a long time, we can`t take it anymore.
We don`t have work here, we can`t live. In our country it is much worse. So we need to
get out of here to feed our families, our children who are the future of tomorrow."
Men, women and children walked along a highway from the city of Tapachula
near the Guatemala border toward Mexico's capital.
Some were confronted by police trying to push them back. Mexican authorities
say anyone trying to leave the city could be penalized and is urging people to stay.
"What happens is that the migrants have been badly informed. They deceive them. Yes,
right now no judge has given a resolution for them to pass through freely. We are
going to invite them to stay." Others prayed overnight before
making the journey toward the US.
"We can`t take it anymore, this is like a bomb, like an explosive bomb,
we`ve already exploded. We want to get out of here, we can`t take it anymore."
Many are fleeing political crisis,
economic turmoil and natural disasters in their home countries.
But the Biden Administration is looking at measures to stop illegal entries. This year,
US authorities have reportedly already detained 1.7 million migrants trying to cross its border.
Just last month, thousands of mainly Haitians arrived at Del Rio, Texas.
According to rights groups, the US government expelled nearly 8000 of them.
But for many of these people making the harrowing journey,
it’s a risk they're willing to take in search of a better life.