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A caravan of undocumented migrants set out this Saturday, October 23, from the state of Chiapas, southeast of Mexico, to the capital of the country. Most have been waiting for months to obtain a regulation to be able to work and legally establish themselves in the nation.
Tuxtla Gtz (Mexico) (AFP)
After spending several months waiting for the regulation of their documentation to be able to work, more than a thousand Central American and Haitian migrants are heading to the Mexican capital from this October 23 to ask the authorities of the country to speed up the procedures.
At the cry of Freedom !, Central Americans and Caribbean people, including minors, pushed past a migratory checkpoint in the Viva México community of Tapachula, Chiapas, on the border with Guatemala, as seen in television images.
Migrants seeking refuge in Mexico have settled in Tapachula, especially Central Americans and Haitians fleeing violence and poverty in their countries.
Tens of thousands of them entered the North American country in recent months through the southern border with Guatemala, with the intention of crossing the northern border into the United States, a mission that has become increasingly difficult with massive deportations by the authorities. Americans.
“We have been held here for six months, we can’t take it anymore”
“My goal is to get to Mexico City and for them to process our documents faster, we have already been here (in Tapachula) for five – six months,” José, a young man from Honduras who is making progress, told the AFP news agency. wheelchair walking.
“We are going to Mexico City to ask, please, that we be given freedom in this country (…) we have been held here for six months, we can no longer, we have no work here,” said Joseph in turn, from from Nicaragua.
Mexican authorities have dissolved several caravans amid allegations of abuse of authority.
In September, thousands of Haitians managed to advance and meet under a border bridge, without achieving their goal of obtaining asylum on US soil. Many then decided to seek refuge in Mexico.
According to official figures, 1.3 million migrants have been detained on the southern border of the United States since the arrival of President Joe Biden to the White House in January, a migratory wave that was not seen 20 years ago.
The Human Rights Watch organization denounces that Mexico has expelled some 54,000 foreigners so far in 2021.
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