Mexico Says It Will Block Migrant Caravan Enroute To US From Honduras

Mexico said it will block hundreds of mostly Honduran migrants hoping to reach the United States as officials there continue to crack down on the number of immigrants amid pressure from the Trump administration.

The country’s interior ministry said it would not grant tourist visas and would check the status of each migrant, but would welcome those interested in staying there.

“Mexico is not only a transit country… In no way we have transit visas or safe passage,” said Mexico’s Interior Minister Olga Sánchez Cordero, who warned that the migrants would be met by special operations and immigration agents, the BBC reported.

She told journalists that an estimated 600 migrants had left Honduras on Wednesday. Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard told him that Mexico will not let a migrant caravan pass and would “do everything in their powers to stop the group.”

New California Bill Could Completely Disqualify Former ICE Agents from Public Employment

‘We’re Scared, Very Scared’: Weeping Spanish Girl Reveals Heartbreaking Reality of Mass Migration from Africa

Sen Jim Justice finds way through Senate polarization to bring WWII hero memorial to DC

Former USCIS official, accomplice charged in alleged $960K citizenship bribery scheme

Dramatic video captures floodwaters bursting through glass doors of college students’ home

Trump appears to debut darker hair, sparking online buzz

Breaking: Deadly Amazon Cargo Plane Crash at Miami Airport Leaves 5 Dead

Amy Acton campaign says armed individual lunged at Ohio governor candidate, injuring multiple people

Hasan Piker brushes off Dems who see him as a liability, names his ’28 choice

Stray bullet from nearby lounge fight kills Frito-Lay worker inside Sam’s Club

After ‘Lake America,’ Trump suggests a new name for the state of New Mexico

Amazon cargo plane overruns Miami airport runway, striking ‘multiple’ vehicles and catching fire

Trump admin’s mail-in ballot fight lands back at Supreme Court

Hikers stranded on Mount Shasta after relying on AI to plan trip, sheriff says

Sanders pushes ‘death penalty’ for crucial US industry that could give advantage to foreign adversaries

On Thursday, Honduran authorities fired tear gas after people tried crossing into Guatemala without going through checks.

Many migrants set out Wednesday from San Pedro Sula in Honduras, one of Central America’s most violent cities, in the hope of forming a caravan similar to the ones that overwhelmed American border agents in 2018. Caravans have tended to attract migrants with fewer resources — not enough money to pay a smuggler, for example — and offer a greater level of security than traveling alone or in small groups.

Walter Martinez, 18, joined the group in San Pedro Sula, figuring there would be safety in numbers. His family paid a smuggler when he migrated illegally to the U.S. for the first time five years ago. He was deported from Houston, Texas, in November.

“The only thing motivating me is seeing my family,” he said.

President Trump has pressured Central American leaders to stop the flow of migrants before they reach the U.S.-Mexico border, where many are applying for asylum.

In the Guatemalan town of Morales, authorities were checking documents at a roadblock and police officers were accompanied by four agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Department of Homeland Security has deployed dozens of agents to act as “advisers” to the national police and immigration officials there.

Trump has made border security a top priority. Border officials were overwhelmed in 2018 when thousands of migrants formed caravans to flee endemic poverty and violence in their countries. In an effort to enlist help from other countries, particularly Mexico, he threatened to impose tariffs on Mexican imports.