Over the weekend, Fuzzy blogged about a caravan of hundreds of Central Americans crossing over into Mexico in an attempt to cross America’s border. The people want to apply for asylum or slip into the country illegally.
At first, Mexico didn’t do anything to stop them, but officials decided late Monday night to disband the caravan. The government will allow disabled people and pregnant women to stay. The others must leave.
BuzzFeed reporter Adolfo Flores is with the group:
Another organizer, Alex Mensing, called the Mexican action a victory for the caravan, saying organizers had successfully persuaded the Mexican government to allow caravan members to apply for asylum in the United States and Mexico.“Don’t be fooled, the government isn’t ‘disbanding’ it, it’s conceding its participants’ right to apply for asylum without traveling in the shadows,” he said.Still, hundreds of the migrants are expected to accept Mexico’s offer to allow the most vulnerable among them to stay. A federal delegate with INM who gave only his last name, Rodríguez, told BuzzFeed News that humanitarian visas would go to vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, people with disabilities, or people with chronic illnesses like HIV.Everyone else will have to petition the Mexican government to stay in the country or they will be ordered to leave, he said.
Those who do not receive the humanitarian visa have to leave Mexico in ten days. They can also ask for permission to stay for 30 days:
Irineo Mujica, director of Pueblo Sin Fronteras, said he expects about one-third of the migrants, if not more, will choose to stay in Mexico.”I hope a large majority decide to stay in Mexico now that we’ve seen the reaction from hate groups in the United States,” Mujica told BuzzFeed News.
Interesting. I love how Mujica mentions these “hate groups” in America, but doesn’t mention the fact that Mexico is not allowing everyone to stay. After all:
The Mexican Secretariat of the Interior (SEGOB) said it had already deported 400 migrants who were a part of the caravan.”Under no circumstances will the government of Mexico promote irregular migration,” SEGOB said in a statement.Mexico has been detaining and deporting thousands of migrants for years.According to a recent report, in January and February Mexican immigration authorities deported 16,278 people.
How much do you want to bet that America will receive all the backlash if we deport the same amount of people from this caravan? So Mexico can have tough immigration policies, but America can’t?
Officials believe that the people in the caravan will rely on the “catch and release” policy. Border Patrol union leader Brandon Judd told Fox News:
“First off, you have got a Mexican government entity that is assisting these individuals that are coming up to the United States,” Judd told “Fox & Friends.” “These individuals do not have passports or legal documents to be in Mexico, yet you got an agency that’s helping them get to our [U.S.] border.”Judd said border patrol agents do not have the ability to stop the migrants at the border even if they only step one foot on U.S. soil.“Once they [the migrants] enter the country, even if we [border patrol agents] are standing at the border with our hands out saying, ‘Don’t enter, don’t enter,’ all they have to do is cross one foot into the border and we have to take them into custody,” Judd said. “If they ask for asylum or say I fear to go back to my country, then we have to process them under ‘credible fear’ which allows them to be released into our country.”
If anything, this caravan will cause more headaches for our authorities and lawmakers, who have struggled to reach an agreement on immigration. It’s already caused President Donald Trump to angrily react, which has shown me that it’s pushed him away from a compromise. He also noted Mexico’s tough immigration and border laws:
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