Thousands of Honduran migrants are waiting on a bridge over the Suchiate River, hoping to cross over into Mexico. News reports from the scene say that some of the migrants have jumped into the river, risking their lives. You can see the throngs of people on the bridge here:
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At least three thousand Honduran migrants, traveling mainly on foot, crossed through Guatemala and arrived at the southern border of Mexico on Friday afternoon. Their arrival at the border led to chaos and clashes between police and migrants, with some migrants throwing stones. The caravan of people broke through a border fence on the Guatemalan side and surged across a bridge of the Suchiate River, which marks the border between Guatemala and Mexico. Mexican police fired tear gas at the crowd, sending people rushing back towards the bridge, where many spent the night.
Mexican officials said they would process the migrants’ asylum requests in groups of 50 to 100 people at a time. That means that as of Saturday morning, thousands of people are still waiting on the bridge over the Suchiate River. The migrants say they are fleeing violence and extreme poverty in their homeland and hope to make it as far north as the United States.
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commission on Refugees said they were working with the Mexican government to help process the demands of the thousands of people seeking asylum. On Thursday, the Mexican foreign secretary asked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for help in determining which of the thousands of migrants had a real claim to enter the country. A spokesperson for the UN’s refugee agency said that they were negotiating with the Mexican government to see how they could help. “We’re in discussions. UNHCR is talking to the government to see how we can best help them,” said the spokesperson, Sibylla Brodzinsky. “This is just starting. Talks are happening.”
Trump Is Calling on ‘Chuck & Nancy’ to Help Write New Immigration Laws
As the caravan of migrants makes its way north, politicians on both sides of the aisle have been talking about immigration laws. On Saturday morning, President Trump tweeted, “If the Democrats would stop being obstructionists and come together, we could write up and agree to new immigration laws in less than one hour. Look at the needless pain and suffering that they are causing. Look at the horrors taking place on the Border. Chuck & Nancy, call me!”
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