Mexico issuing visas to caravan migrants
MATIAS ROMERO, Mexico — The Mexican government began handing out transit or humanitarian visas to people in a caravan of Central American migrants, and said the procession of 1,000 or so migrants that drew criticism from President Donald Trump had begun to disperse.
Some migrants who awoke at the camp Wednesday said they would try their luck at requesting asylum in the United States, others in Mexico.
Elmer Zelaya Gomez, 38, of El Salvador, has been sleeping with his wife and three children — 7, 13 and 14 — on the soccer field under blankets as they wait for temporary transit visas from Mexico to continue to the U.S. border. He hopes to request asylum and join relatives in New York.
Like many, Zelaya Gomez had joined the caravan, which never planned to go to the border, because there was safety in numbers.
Now, the family faces the prospect of traveling solo; the caravan is scheduled to make its last stops this week in the central city of Puebla and end in Mexico City.
The caravan is an annual event held around Easter each year to raise awareness about the plight of migrants and has never left southern Mexico, though some participants then continue north on their own.
Many say they never intended on going all the way to the United States after the end of the “Stations of the Cross” caravan.
Some are seeking asylum in Mexico.
The Mexican government said late Tuesday that its immigration policy “is not subject to pressure,” but noted the caravan “began to disperse by decision of the participants.”
It said 465 migrants had asked for transit visas and 230 had gotten them, and another 168 were likely to get some sort of visa to stay in Mexico.