Mexico's migrant caravan had shrunk in size

8/11/2024 6:17

        A caravan of thousands of migrants traveling through Mexico
        with the hope of reaching the U.S. had shrunk to about half its
        original size on Thursday as many migrants grapple with their
        prospects following former U.S. President Donald Trump's victory
        in Tuesday's election.
        
        Trump clinched the presidential election after a
        campaign that promised large-scale deportations of undocumented
        migrants and a return to fast-tracked deportations to Mexico.
        
        An official from Mexico's National Migration Institute
        told Reuters the caravan had dwindled to less than 1,600 people,
        down from 3,000 when it set out from the southern city of
        Tapachula on Tuesday.
        
        Just over 100 people asked for help from authorities to
        return to Tapachula, the official said. It was unclear where the
        rest of the migrants who left the caravan were headed.
        
        After hearing that Trump had won, many of those in the
        caravan felt less hopeful about their chance at a new life in
        the United States.
        
        "I had hoped (Kamala Harris) would win, but that didn't
        happen," said Valerie Andrade, a Venezuelan migrant traveling
        from Chiapas to Oaxaca in southern Mexico.
        
        Andrade, along with her husband, and like over 7 million
        other Venezuelans, left her crisis-ridden country seeking better
        prospects.
        
        Trump's proposed immigration policies also include ending
        birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants.
        
        During his previous administration, between 2017 and 2021
        Trump put in place policies that left hundreds of thousands of
        migrants stranded in camps along the Mexican border, reshaping
        U.S. immigration politics.
        
        A spokesperson for Chiapas state security told Reuters that
        while the migrant caravan continues north, some families are
        choosing to turn back to Tapachula, near the Guatemalan border.
        
        But for many the journey northward persists.
        
        Venezuelan migrant Jeilimar, who requested that her last
        name be withheld for her safety, remains hopeful her appointment
        to seek asylum via the U.S. Customs and Border Protection app,
        CBP One, will come through before Trump assumes office in
        January.
        
        "With God's favor, I'll get that appointment," she said, as
        she traveled with her 6-year-old daughter, intent on reaching
        the U.S.
        
        Human rights activists say migrants will continue to arrive
        to the U.S. southern border.
        
        "People will seek new paths; it'll be more dangerous, but it
        won't stop them," said Heyman Vázquez, a Catholic priest and
        pro-migrant activist in Chiapas.