A caravan of Cuban migrants would set off for the southern border of the United States next Monday. There have already been many days of crisis in this region of the Mexican state of Chiapas and the majority have still not received a response to their requests. Thousands of Cubans, accompanied by migrants from other countries, have already announced that they would set out in search of the American dream. They are no longer waiting for a possible peaceful and legal solution from the Aztec authorities. The caravan is estimated to number more than six thousand people and will depart from Tapachula in the early hours of next Monday. The group also includes Haitians, Hondurans, Venezuelans and other irregular migrants.
Rushed decision?
The thousands of migrants stranded in Tapachula have opted for this Plan B following the recent decision of the National Migration Institute of Mexico (INM). It turns out that this entity has refused to respond to their request to issue a document allowing them to proceed to the US border.
Another straw that broke the camel’s back was that Mexico suspended flight permits to the border for Cubans with appointments through the CBP One application. Through this tool, thousands of island-born migrants received appointments to seek political asylum in the United States.
The local press Diario del Sur interviewed several migrants, protagonists of another episode of their journey, now in Tapachula. Respondents stated that they have “lived for a long time in this city in southern Mexico, with limited resources and no family to support them, and having to pay dearly for everything.” They are demanding that the INM issue immigration documents that will allow them to continue travel to the United States.
Respondents also recognized that beginning a journey through Mexico in a caravan involves many risks. “We know that in addition to contact with the Mexican army and police, we can expect kidnappings, assaults and violent robberies.”
INM data shows that approximately 20,000 Cubans are stuck in Tapachula waiting to continue their journey to the United States.