Mexican authorities blocked dozens of migrants from boarding a US-bound freight train in Mexico City on Friday in a major new enforcement effort.
Thousands of people have used the freight train, known as “The Beast,” to make the dangerous journey to the Mexico-US border before they cross illegally.
Earlier this week, Mexican railway company Ferromex temporarily suspended 60 trains operating in the northern part of the country because migrants were injured while riding freight cars. Mexico’s National Migration Institute (INM) has since deployed agents to prevent people from boarding the ship, according to Reuters.
On a railroad track next to a garbage dump in Huehuetoca, a town north of Mexico City, about 40 INM agents in more than a dozen vans drove along the tracks to cut off access to migrants and sent drones to track others who had rushed inside. surrounding hills.
“They forced us off the railway tracks,” a Venezuelan migrant named Jason told Reuters. “We have no other choice.”
Migrants carrying backpacks and jugs of water trudge through the tall grass in the scorching sun to retreat on foot to the nearest town.
INM on Friday said it would work with Ferromex to identify strategic points to prevent migrants from trying to board the train, Reuters reported.
Ferromex said on Wednesday there had been about “half a dozen regrettable cases of injury or death” caused by migrants on freight trains in recent days. It also said some migrants had jumped onto moving freight cars “despite the great danger they represented.”
Mexican authorities have begun new enforcement actions to prevent people from trying to board trains after several reports of serious injuries or deaths.REUTERS
The crackdown comes as desperate migrants increasingly seek access to the US, overwhelming both Mexican and US border officials.
Migrants have long used the train, known collectively as “The Beast,” to hitch a ride to the US border, and a video of a Ferromex train leaving Zacatecas, Mexico, full of migrants — headed for the southern US border — went viral on Sunday.
When the company announced the decision to halt train operations, it said there were about 1,500 migrants gathered at the train yard in the city of Torreon, in the northern border state of Coahuila.
Asylum seekers heading to the US board a train after thousands of migrants crossed into the United States in recent days, in El Carmen, Mexico September 21, 2023.REUTERS
Despite the US’s stern message to migrants “Don’t come,” migrants continue to travel in droves.
The crackdown comes as desperate migrants increasingly seek access to the US, overwhelming both Mexican and US border officials.
Migrants have long used the train, known collectively as “The Beast,” to hitch a ride to the US border, and a video of a Ferromex train leaving Zacatecas, Mexico, full of migrants — headed for the southern US border — went viral on Sunday.
Asylum seekers heading to the US board a train after thousands of migrants crossed into the United States in recent days, in El Carmen, Mexico September 21, 2023.REUTERS
When the company announced the decision to halt train operations, it said there were about 1,500 migrants gathered at the train yard in the city of Torreon, in the northern border state of Coahuila.
Despite the US’s stern message to migrants “Don’t come,” migrants continue to travel in droves.
Last month, there were more than 20,000 immigrants in Border Patrol custody, according to CBP sources, in the Rio Grande Valley sector of Texas.
The caravan heading to the southern border included families with babies and children, along with unaccompanied minors.
Of the families stopped along the Rio Grande Valley, many were released with upcoming court dates.
Fox News’ Greg Wehner, Bill Melugin, Lawrence Richard and Reuters contributed to this report.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
