Migrant caravan back on move

Thousands of Central American migrants were resuming their trip toward the US border Saturday, after dedicated Mexico City metro trains whisked them to the outskirts of the capital and drivers began offering rides north.

At the Line 2 terminus, migrants began making their way to a main highway to resume walking and hitchhiking with the tacit approval of Mexican officials.

Near a major toll plaza north of the city, Mexico state police and humanrights officials helped load men, women and children onto flatbeds and asked passing buses and trucks if they would carry migrants.

Maria Yesenia Perez, 41, who left La Ceiba, Honduras, nearly a month ago with her 8-year-old daughter, said she was prepared to wait to gain entry at the US border.

“I decided to come [with the caravan] to help my family,” she said, before she and her daughter were hoisted onto the back of a semi.

Perez is one of roughly 4,000 migrants who plan to proceed to the city of Queretaro — 124 miles to the northwest — and then eventually to Tijuana on the US border.

Many are now hauling bundles of blankets, sleeping bags and heavy clothing to protect against colder temperatures in the northern part of the country.

Astrid Daniela Aguilar, traveling with cousins aged 3 and 4, lined up alongside the highway to hitch a ride.

“You can’t find work there,” she said of her home country, Honduras.

The caravan became a campaign issue in US midterm elections and President Trump has ordered the deployment of military troops to the border to fend off the migrants. Trump has also insinuated without proof that there are criminals or terrorists in the group.

Many migrants say they are fleeing rampant poverty, gang violence and political instability in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.