Desperate migrants were seen clinging to the side of The Beast train as it hurtled towards the US-Mexico border, part of a massive 6,000-strong caravan currently heading towards America.
Footage of the crowded train showed it traveling at breakneck speed through Chihuahua, Mexico, with several dozen more migrants finding space on the roof in hopes of continuing their journey to the border.
A large portion of the migrant caravan is expected to be headed toward El Paso, Texas, one of several border areas through which thousands of asylum seekers travel each month.
In December, border officials reported an average of over 9,600 migrant crossings per day, the highest number ever recorded. In November the number was 6,800, meaning the border was seeing over 3,000 more arrivals each day that month.
More than 6,000 migrants are making their way to the U.S.-Mexico border in a massive caravan, with authorities raising alarm over the unsustainable number of border crossings this year
The migrants leave Tapachula, Mexico, and head north to the border. Many are believed to be headed toward El, Paso, Texas
The footage showed several large groups of migrants desperately clinging to a train, hoping to join the more than 9,600 migrants crossing the border every day this month
The caravan's 6,000 migrants have been steadily making their way to America for weeks, taking a route similar to that of hundreds of thousands before them through difficult terrain.
Over Christmas, thousands spent the holiday in shelters and camps in Chihuahua after the latest wave reached the area a few days earlier.
According to Mexican news agency El Dario de Chihuahua, the day after Christmas, a camp called “El Alamillo” near the Alamillo train station was already empty as the flow of people in Juarez reached its next stage.
The outlet also noted that a large amount of trash and discarded belongings were left scattered around the area as the migrants hastily left the site.
As the caravan moves north, the town of Jimenez on the southern tip of Chihuahua saw another 2,500 migrants on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, KFOR reports.
With trains halted in many areas along the typical migrant route over Christmas, some officials reportedly told officials they got off further south in Durango, Mexico, and walked five hours to Chihuahua to avoid missing the next train .
The caravan began its journey through Mexico in particular a few days before US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's visit to the city.
The United States temporarily closed several border crossings, including two key rail bridges, earlier this month to shift enforcement resources elsewhere across the border amid rising migrant numbers, a key issue in next year's U.S. election.
A migrant bows while waiting for a Border Patrol transport at the U.S.-Mexico border near Lukeville, Arizona on Christmas
Over Christmas, thousands spent the holiday in emergency shelters and camps. To keep warm, some are seen setting fires at a camp in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on December 28
Migrants gather near the border wall after crossing the Rio Bravo River as a Border Patrol agent commands the group
But Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Thursday that both U.S. and Mexican officials had agreed to keep the border crossings open.
“This agreement has been reached, the railway crossings and border bridges are already being opened to normalize the situation,” Lopez Obrador said at a morning news conference.
As anger grows in America over the relentless flood of migrants heading to the border, Mexican authorities are accused of doing little to find a solution to the crisis.
As the 2,500 migrants arrived in Jimenez, the city's mayor shared on Facebook his pride in moving the influx north toward the border.
“Let us remember that the meaning of life is to serve, to show compassion and to be willing to help others,” said Mayor Marco Juarez Torres. “That’s why we used the Manuel Gomez Morin Gym as temporary accommodation for the migrants who newly arrived in our city.”
Although the number of migrants in the caravan is reportedly at 6,000, there are fears it could continue to rise significantly as Mexican residents join the group in hopes of entering America.
Officials have been warning for some time that resources are becoming increasingly strained by the unstoppable number of migrant crossings
Migrants go to a processing facility on the U.S.-Mexico border near Lukeville at the direction of Border Patrol
Local media indicates that Juárez is the final destination for many as it provides access to El Paso, Texas.
Even though El Paso is struggling, it is not alone: Two other border cities that are not considered hotspots for migrants continue to set records.
In Lukeville, Arizona, nearly 20,000 migrants crossed the border illegally in just one week.
Eagle Pass in Texas has also borne the brunt of the crisis, prompting billionaire Elon Musk to visit the city in September.
Musk was given a tour of the affected camps by Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales, an outspoken critic of Biden's border policies. After December's record breaches, he said the crisis was “historic.”
“Still, more people are coming. And there are more people in the pipeline,” he said last week.
“Our entire southern border is being dismantled by the cartels.” “As mass caravans of migrants pull CBP personnel away from the front lines, several Border Patrol checkpoints have been closed — allowing contraband and criminals to enter without resistance,” Gonzales said in a statement.
“Trade is slowly coming to a standstill and our police officers are exhausted ahead of a demoralizing Christmas period that will see them working overtime.” If there was ever a time to sound the alarm, this would be it.
“For the sake of our national security, Washington must put politics aside and find political solutions that resolve this border crisis once and for all.”