Thousands of caravan migrants take shelter in southern Mexico

TECUN UMAN

(Guatemala): Thousands of Central American migrants travelling together to enter the United States have hunkered down in shelters in a southern Mexico city along its border with Guatemala, according to local officials.

The migrants pose a tough challenge to the Mexican government’s pledge to stop the illegal travellers’ plans to press ahead to the US border.

More than 5,100 migrants have been registered in three shelters in the Mexican border town of Ciudad Hidalgo, while another 2,000 had camped out for the night in the town’s central square, said Gerardo Hernandez, head of the local government’s emergency services.

“It’s really full. You can’t even walk, there’s just so many people,” he said referring to the plaza. “So far, they’re all peaceful, thank God.”

In a statement on Saturday night, Mexico’s federal government said “nearly 900 migrants” had arrived by unauthorised means, while 640 had been processed after being allowed to cross into the country via the international border crossing on the Suchite River that divides Guatemala from Mexico.

Earlier in the day, the presidents of Honduras and Guatemala said about 2,500 migrants had either already been repatriated to Honduras or were in transit back home, many using free bus tickets doled out by Guatemalan police.

Full story @ timesofoman.com/world