Migrant caravan grows as Mexico fast-tracks humanitarian visas

UPDATED ON: JANUARY 23, 2019 / 9:22 AM / CBS NEWS

A migrant caravan trying to reach the U.S. is expected to grow as thousands gather at Mexico's southern border awaiting entry. Last week, Mexico decided to fast-track humanitarian visas so migrants can enter legally and nearly 8,000 people have applied. So far, more than 500 visas have been issued.

Thousands of migrants are gathered on both sides of Mexico-Guatemala border because of the five-day waiting period to get visas. Now, those who had originally entered Mexico illegally are trying to backtrack to the border, so they too can get visas, reports CBS News' Adriana Diaz.

As the buses arrived in Tapachula, 15 miles north of the border, desperation set in. The lines began forming before dawn Tuesday as word spread that the Mexican government was transporting migrants who had entered illegally to get humanitarian visas.


In the line, Diaz met Salvadoran Aura Guinea and her 5-month-old daughter. She sees the visa as a means to get to the U.S. and is willing to keep trying. Many of the migrants have their sights set on the U.S. after entering Mexico illegally in the larger October caravan.

But some we spoke to, like Honduran Penny Steward, don't plan on leaving Mexico. She told us Donald Trump doesn't want anyone in his country and that the people who aren't stopped by that aren't thinking. Steward earned $2 a day washing dishes in Honduras but said a humanitarian visa could mean a better paying job in Mexico. In Honduras, she was homeless.

The caravan is more than 2,000 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, but the mayor of the border city Tijuana already said his government is not prepared to handle the group. Some migrants we spoke to said they know from word of mouth and social media that tension is rising at the border, but they are not deterred.

First published on January 23, 2019

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