After a week of traveling north from Tapachula, a city in the southern state of Chiapas, the latest migrant caravan aiming to leave the Mexico-Guatemala border region has shrunk from about 1,000 individuals to roughly 700. This group is the second to depart this year, with hopes of reaching Mexico City and other northern areas where job opportunities are more abundant.
A report notes that the migrants, who have named their caravan “David,” reached Pijijiapan, Chiapas, following a 150-kilometer trek. The journey, which is a little over 90 miles, has proven challenging, especially with temperatures consistently in the low 90s Fahrenheit, affecting many of the predominantly Haitian migrants.
The group decreased in size as a number of migrants opted to turn themselves in to the National Migration Institute (INM) in Mexico and return to Tapachula right away. Some have given up altogether, while others have decided to continue on their own.
Local officials indicated that the caravan will take a break at their current site before heading further north, likely traveling at night to escape the heat. Many members of this group have spent over a year in Tapachula, waiting for formal refugee status to allow for easier movement within Mexico.
Earlier this year, a different caravan called “Genesis” was formed in March but was quickly broken up by the INM before it could leave Chiapas in early April. Participants in the current “David” caravan express similar frustration regarding the lack of job prospects and the backlog in Mexico’s refugee system.
There’s been ongoing dissatisfaction among immigrants in Tapachula due to limited job opportunities, and when they do secure work, it’s often long hours with inadequate pay. Estimates suggest that around 75,000 foreign immigrants are stuck at Mexico’s southern border because of stricter immigration policies established during the Trump administration.
Immigrants who lack legal refugee status are unable to work in factories or stores and have no access to social security benefits from the Mexican government. This lack of legal standing also raises the risk of exploitation by employers. Groups have voiced concerns that their asylum requests are being overlooked by both the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) and the National Institute of Migration (INM).
Unfortunately, the “David” caravan appears unlikely to succeed in its challenging endeavor to cross Mexico’s southern border. Reports indicate that since Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum took office in October 2024, 18 similar migrant caravans, including David, have attempted this journey, but none have made it past the southern states of Chiapas and Oaxaca without being dismantled by authorities.
