Massive Migrant Caravan Marches Toward U.S. As Top Biden Officials Meet With Mexican President

 A migrant caravan of about 8,000 people is headed toward the US southern border, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico City on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing border crisis. Are going to meet.

The migrant caravan is made up of people from an estimated 24 different countries and began its journey toward the U.S. border on Saturday, marching through the Mexican state of Chiapas to the border with Guatemala, NBC News reports. Most of the migrants in the caravan are from Central America, Cuba, Venezuela and Haiti, but some are from Iran, Turkey, Syria and Cameroon, according to Luis García Villagrán, who helped organize the caravan. Villagrán also estimated that the caravan could grow to 15,000 people by the time it reaches the U.S.-Mexico border, the New York Post reports.

Mexico has often allowed such caravans to pass through its country to the US border, and López Obrador said last month that US officials were asking him to do more to stop the caravans at Mexico's border with Guatemala. Were staying. However, the Mexican president wants the US to send more aid to Latin American countries and ease sanctions against the communist governments of Cuba and Venezuela.

“We are going to help, as we always do,” López Obrador said. "Mexico is helping to reach agreements with other countries, in this case Venezuela."

According to The New York Times, shortly before the meeting with Blinken and Mayorkas, López Obrador called for the U.S. to provide more support to Latin American countries rather than "building walls", and said the illegal immigration issue was only "going to intensify." Is". During the meeting, Blinken will "discuss unprecedented irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere and identify ways Mexico and the United States will address border security challenges, including by reopening key ports of entry across our shared border." ", including taking action," the State Department said. ,

Biden administration officials' meeting with Lopez Obrador comes amid a record surge in illegal border crossings as President Joe Biden faces continued calls to take action on the crisis. In November, a record 242,418 migrants were detected attempting to enter the US illegally, according to Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). Authorities also saw record-setting days for illegal border crossings earlier this month, with more than 10,000 migrants crossing into the US illegally on multiple days.

An estimated 8 million illegal immigrants have been apprehended by Border Patrol agents since Biden's inauguration in January 2021, and about 1.7 million illegal immigrants have fled on Biden's watch.