Medellin, Colombia — On Tuesday, a gaggle of greater than two thousand migrants, primarily of Haitian origin, reportedly left the southeastern metropolis of Tapachula in Chiapas, on their method to cities in central and northern Mexico.
In years previous, migrant caravans traversing Mexico had been often destined for the USA. However following the second Trump administration’s tightening of asylum coverage, this aim has change into extra unrealistic, and Mexico has more and more change into a vacation spot nation for migrants, in line with the Worldwide Group for Migration (IOM).
A number of the individuals who make up the “David” caravan have spent weeks or extra in southern Mexico, ready to normalize their migration standing to have the ability to transfer extra freely in Mexico, according to migrant information web site Conexión Migrante. The method could be sluggish as Mexico fields extra asylum requests.
In keeping with the UNHCR, between 2020 and 2024, there have been nearly 500,000 asylum requests in Mexico, a quantity that has resulted in lengthy delays from the Mexican Fee for Refugee Help (COMAR) and the Nationwide Institute of Migration (INM).
As of September 2025, there have been greater than 58,800 new asylum claims, and COMAR had elevated its processing capability fivefold since 2018.
Between October 1 2024 and June 30 2025, there have been 142,145 requests for humanitarian visas in Mexico, however solely 5,191 had been granted, in line with the INM Strategic Plan.
The bureaucratic issues pre-date Trump’s immigration crackdown in his second time period.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic compelled COMAR to droop exercise, accumulating a backlog of asylum petitions. Exacerbating the difficulty was Trump’s January 2025 suspension of the CBP One digital asylum-seeking app within the U.S., adopted by funds cuts to COMAR from the Mexican authorities in addition to the UN Refugee Company (UNHCR).
By way of a Whatsapp group organized for the caravan, many members cited excessive delays for processing asylum functions as a motive for heading north from Mexico’s southern border. Lack of employment and value of residing had been additionally cited, according to Conexión Migrante.
With out documentation, many international migrants are caught in a authorized limbo, the place they run the chance of being stopped by authorities, deported or despatched again to the southern border with Guatemala.
Migrants have additionally been focused by felony teams for kidnapping and extortion, with ProPublica reporting that this drawback has entered a brand new section when it comes to scale and character. Migrants’ undefined authorized standing additionally typically forces them to work lengthy hours with decrease pay, according to the Worldwide Rescue Committee.
Since Claudia Sheinbaum took workplace in October 2024, there have been 18 migrant caravans leaving from Tapachula, although none of them have made it additional than Oaxaca, the state neighbouring Chiapas.
On the finish of March, the ‘Genesis’ migrant caravan set off from Tapachula, nevertheless it was intercepted after 12 days and dissolved by the INM.
In keeping with native information outlet Diario del Sur, on Thursday, the David caravan arrived in Escuintla, Chiapas after three days of strolling, the place members will relaxation earlier than persevering with the journey.
Many migrants had been demonstrating indicators of maximum bodily exhaustion, and roughly thirty who fell behind the principle group have been despatched again to Tapachula, the place they continue to be below the custody of the authorities, according to Reporteros del Sur.
Featured picture description: David migrant caravan in Mexico
Featured picture credit: @reporterosdlsur by way of X
