The first Central American migrant caravan of 2022 was stopped in Guatemala just hours into its planned journey from Honduras to the US, w...
The first Central American migrant caravan of 2022 was stopped in Guatemala just hours into its planned journey from Honduras to the US, with only 10 of the 300 people traveling with it allowed to continue.
Several hundred migrants who had departed from the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula at dawn Saturday in the hopes of reaching the United States crossed the border and entered Guatemalan territory on Saturday afternoon. There, they were intercepted by cops equipped with riot gear and shields, before being taken into custody ahead of plans to return most of them to Honduras.
Some 300 migrants, mainly Hondurans and Nicaraguans, arrived in Corinto, Honduras Saturday afternoon and crossed into the Guatemalan border province of Izabal, where they were met by hundreds of anti-riot agents from the national police and army.
The Guatemalan Migration Institute said it was in talks with the migrants on returning them to their countries of origin. Those who wish to remain in Guatemala must present their personal identification document, vaccination card and a negative test for the coronavirus.
Migrants from Central America sit on a road in front of a Guatemalan police officers after a migrant caravan was blocked by Guatemalan authorities, near the border with Honduras, on Saturday afternoon
Honduran police check documents of migrants who are part of a caravan hoping to reach the United States, in Corinto, Honduras on Saturday
The migrants arrived in Corinto, Honduras on Saturday afternoon. Some crossed the border at Izabal where they were met by law enforcement. Another set of migrants attempted to make the journey north in San Pedro Sula on Sunday morning
Guatemalan military police stand guard as migrants from Central America wait on a road after being blocked by Guatemalan authorities while traveling in a caravan
Migrants who are part of a caravan who were hoping to reach the United States, rest in Corinto, Honduras. A total of 300 people formed the caravan, but only 10 were allowed to continue on their journey to the US
Migrants from Central America wait on a road near the border with Honduras outside of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala
Guatemalan police stand guard as migrants from Central America wait on a road after being blocked by Guatemalan authorities while traveling in a caravan, near the border with Honduras outside of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala
Migrants who are part of a caravan hoping to reach the United States, wait in a line as they wait to have their documents checked by police in Corinto, Honduras
Guatemala's military lines to stop migrants who are part of a caravan from Honduras hoping to reach the United States, after they crossed the border in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala
The numbers of migrants trying to cross the US-Mexico border were at their highest on record in 2021
'People are being returned, everything in order, humanely,' said institute general director Carlos Emilio Morales. 'We are protecting our borders; we are protecting the health of all Guatemalans.'
Guatemala's government said 36 people were deported to Honduras because they did not meet the requirements and a group of 10 who met immigration and health requirements were allowed to continue.
The migrants had begun their journey toward the U.S. from San Pedro Sula shortly after dawn Saturday, walking to the Guatemalan border in hopes that travelling in a group would be safer or cheaper than trying to hire smugglers or trying on their own. They were joined by a second smaller group.
Fabricio Ordoñez, a young Honduran laborer, said he had joined the group in hopes of 'giving a new life to my family.'
'The dream is to be in the United States to be able to do many things in Honduras,' he said, adding he was pessimistic that left-leaning President-elect Xiomara Castro, who takes office on Jan. 27, would be able to quickly solve the Central American nation´s economic and social problems after 12 years of conservative administrations plagued by scandal.
A migrant from Central America sits on a road in front of a Guatemalan police officers after a migrant caravan was blocked by Guatemalan authorities, near the border with Honduras
Migrants wanting to reach the US, mostly Hondurans and Nicaraguans, take a rest on arrival at the Honduran-Guatemalan border, in Corinto, Honduras
A migrant from Central America crawls under a gate to avoid immigration authorities while setting off in a caravan for the United States, near the border with Guatemala
Guatemalan authorities said about 300 people attempted to cross into the country
Migrant children wait on a road after a caravan of migrants from Central America was blocked by Guatemalan authorities
'They have looted everything,' he said. 'It is going to be very hard for this government to improve things.'
Nicaraguan marcher Ubaldo López expressed hope that local officials would not try to hinder this group, as they have in the past.
'We know this is a very hard road and we ask God and the Honduran government to please accompany us to the border with Guatemala and not put more roadblocks,' he said.
Migrants wanting to reach the US, mostly Hondurans and Nicaraguans, cross the Honduran-Guatemalan border, in Corinto, Honduras
Large groups of hundreds of people walking across San Pedro Sula, with many crossing busy highways on foot
Guatemalan authorities said about 100 people crossed into Guatemala at unauthorized border crossings, and later added that some 36 people have been returned to Honduras
It's the first such U.S.-bound migrant caravan to be formed this year in Central America
He said he hoped that Guatemala and Mexico also would allow the group to pass and that the U.S. government 'will open the doors to us' - despite repeated recent examples of regional governments, often under U.S. pressure, trying to halt such caravans.
The caravan, which is the first to be registered this year, originally had about 600 members but divided into several groups to try to evade the control of the Guatemalan authorities and go through the different border crossings and illegal routes.
Migrants from Central America wait on the side of a road after being blocked by Guatemalan authorities while traveling in a caravan, near the border with Honduras
Honduran police have formed prevented the caravan from reaching the border crossing.
Migrants from Central America are transported back to the Honduras border by Guatemalan authorities after their caravan was blocked from advancing, outside of Puerto Barrios
A member of the Guatemalan Army helps a migrant from Central America with a baby stroller after Guatemalan authorities blocked a migrant caravan from advancing and returned migrants to the Honduras border
The first caravan of the year comes after deep economic hardship and poverty that plagues 62% of the Honduran population, made worse by the coronavirus pandemic and two back-to-back hurricanes in 2020
Migrant children rest on the side of the road after a caravan of migrants from Central America was blocked from crossing the border
Members of a migrant caravan begin their journey in the hopes of reaching the US, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras
The caravan set off days before leftist President-elect Xiomara Castro takes office in Honduras on January 27
There were more than one million migrants from countries other than Mexico who tried to cross the U.S. border in 2021
Large numbers of migrants, many from Central America and Haiti, have reached the U.S. border over the past year, creating a headache for the administration of President Joe Biden.
In December, 56 migrants died when a truck carrying more than a hundred foreigners overturned on a highway in southern Mexico.
The U.S. Border Patrol has said it had more than 1.6 million encounters with migrants along the Mexican border between September 2020 and the same month in 2021 - more than four times the total of the previous fiscal year.
Biden has backed proposals for $7 billion in aid to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras in hopes improved economic conditions will slow migration.
At the end of last year, the U.S. government reactivated an immigration policy that forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their hearings.
Mexico's foreign ministry confirmed the reactivation of the U.S. program and said it would temporarily not return migrants to their countries of origin for humanitarian reasons.
The government of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has indicated that Washington has accepted its humanitarian concerns with the program, including the need for 'greater resources for shelters and international organizations, protection for vulnerable groups, consideration of local security conditions' as well as vaccines and anti-COVID-19 measures from migrants.
The Guatemalan army stop the migrant caravan in Guatemala-Honduras border town of Corinto
A group of migrants are seen being taken back across the border in the back of a pickup truck
Hundreds of migrants tried to pass the border but army and police stopped them with tear gas
Another group of migrants set off in the dark early in the morning hoping their chances of crossing the border might be better
Some of the migrants could be seen carrying babies in their arms as they made the journey
When it comes to the numbers of migrants reaching the the U.S. border, ICE reported more than 1.6 million encounters with migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021. The figure more than quadruple the number in 2020 and the highest annual total on record.
The number of encounters fell to just over 400,000 in 2020 with the coronavirus outbreak slowing migration across much of the world.
But in 2021, encounters at the southwest border rebounded sharply according to data published by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Since the coronavirus pandemic, most encounters with migrants that cross into the U.S. see them deported.
Before the pandemic, during the Trump administration migrants were expelled from the U.S. beginning in March 2020 under a public health order which hoped to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The Biden administration has continued to deport migrants entering the country under the same order.
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