A migrant caravan that formed in southern Mexico near Tapachula in the state of Chiapas is making its way north. The caravan consists of about 1,500 migrants from Venezuela, Guatemala, El Salvador, Peru and Ecuador.
Some migrants told The Associated Press they’re uncertain whether they’ll make it to the United States.
One migrant said she left Venezuela because she has a disabled son and wants to get him a special wheelchair. She said she also wants to help her mother and family, who are facing a crisis in Venezuela.
Other migrants said if authorities break up the caravan, they will try to stay in Mexico.
“That is why we want to work in Mexico City and wait and buy the tickets and return to Venezuela if we are not let into the U.S,” one migrant told the AP.
After Donald Trump’s re-election in November, he announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he would implement tariffs on Mexican goods if the Mexican government didn’t do more to curb the flow of migrants and fentanyl across the U.S. southern border.
“On January 20th, as one of my many first executive orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% tariff on all products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous open borders,” Trump wrote. “This tariff will remain in effect until such time as drugs, in particular fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country!”
Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, fired back in a letter to Trump. She wrote in part: “Migration and drug consumption in the United States cannot be addressed through threats or tariffs… For every tariff, there will be a response in kind, until we put at risk our shared enterprises.”
This newest migrant caravan is unlikely to make it to the U.S. southern border before Trump takes office on Jan. 20, as Mexican authorities broke up migrant caravans in November and December.
Trump has promised mass deportations and plans to carry out his immigration plans beginning on Inauguration Day.
In the past, Mexico accepted migrants from other countries and helped them get flights to their countries of origin. However, that could change in the coming weeks when Trump takes office, as Sheinbaum just last week urged the U.S. to repatriate migrants to their home countries instead of sending them to Mexico.
