A caravan of immigrants leaving Honduras has increased to as many as 4,000, and now the government of Mexico has sent a further 500 federal police officers to their nation’s border with Guatemala to prepare for their arrival. This is according to documents allegedly obtained by NBC News from the US government.
The caravan has split into two groups, part of which is now approaching the border between Mexico and Guatemala, as the number of illegal border crossings from Mexico into the US grows. US Border Patrol agents apprehended over 41,000 undocumented immigrants last month, an increase from the August figure of 37,544, numbers obtained by NBC News but not yet publicly released state.
On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that there had been an increase to record levels for the number of unaccompanied immigrant minors and families in September. Churches and shelters on the border have been overwhelmed because of the surge, with hundreds of immigrants released from detention by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, often at the same time. With many of the immigrants being children, the situation is causing problems for the Trump administration which has pledged to decrease illegal immigration to the US following the controversial zero-tolerance policy, and because minors have special protection in the country.
US Customs and Border Protection is tracking the caravan as the Honduran immigrants’ head north to the US border. The State Department is putting pressure on Mexico to have them stopped at their nation’s border with Guatemala.