The biggest migrant caravan of the year, estimated to involve around 7,000 people, is heading to the US – and its leader is claiming President Biden has “dropped the ball” on immigration and is allowing Latin American countries to “attack” his administration.
This latest caravan, made up of migrants from Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras and Venezuela, left southern Mexico on Monday, headed for the US border.
Officials in Mexico’s Chiapas state said about 3,500 people set off on foot from the town of Tapachula near the Guatemalan border – but one of the caravan’s organizers, Irineo Mujica, claimed there were about 5,000 in the initial group, and that number has since swelled to more of 7,000.
Mujica, a US citizen, and self-described “human rights defender” who has accompanied migrants, told cable network Real America’s Voice he believes the leaders of Latin American countries conspired to create the current immigration crisis to extract money from Washington – and Biden allowed it to happen.
Irineo Mujica, a US citizen and one of the leaders of the migrant caravan, said President Biden’s immigration policy was to blame for the crisis on the southern border. Real Americaâs Voice A caravan estimated to include about 7,000 people left Mexico on Monday after growing tired of long waits for visas. AFP via Getty Images
“I believe the Biden administration has dropped the ball,” he said. “A lot of countries are driving this immigration by … transporting people in.”
Mujica went on to claim that immigration is being “weaponized” against the US and the Biden administration – and that Mexico is “joining” other countries in the region “to ensure that all this immigration goes straight to the United States.”
Organizers of the caravan argued that “irresponsible” Latin American countries had charged migrants in exchange for a ride to the US border, where he said they were temporarily detained before being released, instead of being deported.
Mujica said Biden “dropped the ball” on immigration and had allowed Latin American countries to “highlight” the US. AFP via Getty Images
“Joe Biden’s administration has lost the ball, doesn’t know what to do with immigration,” Mujica added, calling the situation “abnormal.”
Mujica accused the president of failing to reach an agreement with his Latin American counterparts to stem the flow of migrants.
“I was really surprised,” he said. “Where is American intelligence? Don’t they know that all the countries are conspiring against the United States to make sure they have this crisis made so they can charge for the crisis?”
The caravan consisted of immigrants from Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, and Venezuela who were fleeing poverty and political turmoil. AFP via Getty Images This is the largest caravan since June 2022, when about 6,000 migrants set off from Tapachula, Mexico. AFP via Getty Images
Mujica also compared Biden’s immigration policy to that of his predecessor Donald Trump, who has made building a wall on the southern border to keep out immigrants a centerpiece of his administration.
“Trump at least knows what to say to make sure that he doesn’t drive immigration,” Mujica said.
Biden is facing growing pressure to lower the number of immigrants crossing legally and illegally into the US from Mexico.
Migrants can be seen marching holding a banner reading “Migrant Caravan”. We want a permit. The dam you sold is our death.” AFP via Getty Images
Many migrants are fleeing poverty and political unrest in their homelands, and this year has seen record numbers crossing the Darien Gap region that connects Panama and Colombia. By September, 420,000 migrants, aided by Colombian smugglers, had passed through the gap in the year to date, Panamanian figures show.
The caravan now moving north through Mexico is said to be the largest since June 2022, when 6,000 migrants left for the southern border.
Migrants in current caravans complain that processing for refugee or exit visas is taking too long at Mexico’s main migrant processing center in Tapachula. Under Mexico’s troubled immigration system, people who obtain such visas often wait for weeks or months, unable to work.
Mújica said migrants are often forced to live on the streets in destitute conditions, with little or no help from Mexican authorities.
Asylum seekers formed long lines on Monday along the highway, accompanied at times by police.
“We have been traveling for about three months, and we will continue,” said Daniel González, from Venezuela. “In Tapachula, nobody helped us.”
Returning to Venezuela was not an option, he said, because the economic situation there had deteriorated so much.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
