Mexico’s government issued approximately 3,000 travel permits to members of a migrant caravan that arrived over the weekend in Chiapas. Rather than trying to stop the group, authorities issued permits and allowed them to continue north in a fragmented manner.
The caravan arrived at Mexico’s southern border on Friday and members of Mexico’s National Immigration Institute (INM) began issuing a series of travel permits that give migrants 30 days to travel freely through the country, a prepared statement from INM revealed.
Over the weekend, INM agents issued approximately 3,000 permits in their office in Huixtla, Chiapas. According to INM, the move was done to disrupt the caravan so individual migrants could move freely through Mexico.
The caravan has since disbanded but the migrants with travel permits will continue to make their way north. The U.S. government is seeing record-setting numbers of migrants reaching its southwest border. Cartel-connected human smugglers are actively promoting a notion that U.S. immigration courts are capable of handling swells of new migrant claims.
The move by Mexico’s INM is a direct contrast to prior approaches dating back to the Trump era, where authorities would meet caravans with riot shields and batons. Last year, human rights activists accused INM agents of using excessive force against migrants.
