"Out of Poverty": Thousands of immigrants join the new procession to enter the United States

A Christmas Eve caravan carrying a sign reading “Out of Poverty” in Spanish – Photo: EPA

A large caravan of migrants from Central and South America left Mexico towards the United States border.

Up to 8,000 people of all ages, most of them from Venezuela, Cuba and Mexico, participate in the procession, carrying a banner reading “Poverty Out.”

In September of this year alone, there were more than 200,000 migrants, according to the US government.

The Christmas Eve caravan left the southern Mexican city of Tapachula, near the country's southern border with Guatemala.

A Honduran migrant who joined the procession said he fled a criminal gang that threatened to kill him.

“I was afraid, so I decided to come to Mexico in the hope that I could go to the United States,” Jose Santos told Reuters news agency.

Migrants walk as they leave Tapachula in a caravan to try to reach the US border – Photo: Reuters

Mexico's President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, said on Friday (12/22) that he wants to cooperate again with the United States to resolve concerns over migration.

The Mexican leader is expected to meet with the US Secretary of State on Wednesday (12/27).

The White House said in a statement that Blinken will discuss “unprecedented illegal immigration” in the region and identify ways to “address security challenges on the border” between the two countries.