Migrant caravan leaves southern Mexican city but many are no longer aiming for the US border
TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — Hundreds of migrants, mostly from Haiti, left the southern Mexican city of Tapachula on foot Tuesday, seeking better living conditions elsewhere in Mexico.
Migrant caravans like the one leaving Tapachula were targeting the US border. But many of the migrants leaving Tapachula on Tuesday said they had lost hope of reaching the United States because of restrictions the Trump administration has imposed on asylum seekers.
Instead, the migrants said they wanted to settle in major Mexican cities where they could find work and seek asylum. Some of the migrants said they could not receive a response to their asylum requests in Tapachula, despite staying in the small city near Mexico’s border with Guatemala for months.
“The United States is no longer an option for us,” said Jerry Gabriel, a 29-year-old Haitian immigrant. “We just want to go to Mexico City, Monterrey, Tijuana or anywhere else we can live.”
In March, another group of several hundred immigrants left Tapachula on foot. However, after 12 days of marching, the caravan was terminated after the migrants made an agreement with Mexican immigration officials.
During the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office in October 2024, 18 immigrant caravans set out from Tapachula. None made it past the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.
Haitians make up a quarter of asylum applications filed in Mexico. According to Mexico’s national refugee agency, 127,000 Haitians petitioned for asylum in Mexico between 2020 and 2024.
