Mexican police break up 800-strong caravan heading towards the southern US border - the FOURTH group of migrants in a week to make the journey

 Mexican border agents and police broke up a caravan of hundreds of migrants Sunday who had set out from southernmost Mexico - the fourth such caravan officials have raided in recent days. 

The group of about 800 - largely Central Americans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Cubans - had set out from the border city of Tapachula where they had been kept awaiting processing by Mexican immigration officials. 

They spent Saturday night at a basketball court near Huixtla, some 25 miles up the road from Tapachula.  

Just before dawn on Sunday, immigration agents went into the crowd amassed on a basketball court, backed by police with anti-riot gear and shields, shoving many into trucks. Many migrants in the crowd had children with them or carried babies. 

This is at least the fourth such caravan that has been broken up after departing from the Chiapas city of Tapachula. The groups were headed toward Mexico City, with many planning to press on towards the US border.

Roughly  55,000 of 77,000 the asylum-seekers in Mexico are awaiting processing at facilities in the city, and many have complained about unsanitary conditions.    


Hundreds of migrants, pictured on September 4, head toward Huixtla 25 miles away from the town of Tapachula, where many have waited for months for their asylum claims to be processed

Hundreds of migrants, pictured on September 4, head toward Huixtla 25 miles away from the town of Tapachula, where many have waited for months for their asylum claims to be processed

The group of about 800 migrants, made up of Haitians, Venezuelans and Cubans, took refuge on a basketball court in Huixtla on the evening of September 5 - they were headed off the next morning by Mexican border control agents

The group of about 800 migrants, made up of Haitians, Venezuelans and Cubans, took refuge on a basketball court in Huixtla on the evening of September 5 - they were headed off the next morning by Mexican border control agents

The group of about 800 - largely made up of Haitians, Venezuelans and Cubans - spent the night of September 5 in Huixtla, about 25 miles north of Tapachula, where roughly 55,000 of 77,000 asylum-seekers in Mexico are awaiting processing

The group of about 800 - largely made up of Haitians, Venezuelans and Cubans - spent the night of September 5 in Huixtla, about 25 miles north of Tapachula, where roughly 55,000 of 77,000 asylum-seekers in Mexico are awaiting processing

Just before dawn on September 5, immigration agents went into the crowd amassed on a basketball court, backed by police with anti-riot gear and shields, shoving many into trucks. Many migrants in the crowd had children in tow or carried babies

Just before dawn on September 5, immigration agents went into the crowd amassed on a basketball court, backed by police with anti-riot gear and shields, shoving many into trucks. Many migrants in the crowd had children in tow or carried babies


Police with anti-riot gear and shields moved in to break up the caravan Sunday, with hundreds of the migrants escaping toward a river and hiding in the vegetation.

'They began to hit me all over,' a woman said amid tears, alleging that police also beat her husband and pulled one of her daughters from her arms. 

'Until they give me my daughter, I’m not leaving,' she told an Associated Press camera crew. But immigration agents surrounded and detained the woman, her husband and another child.

The round up happened days after hundreds of Mexico's National Guardsmen and immigrations agents clashed with migrants on September 2, also in Huixtla, responding with force after rocks and sticks were thrown at them. 

The Mexican government has insisted that two immigration agents caught on camera using excessive force against a Haitian immigrant last Saturday, one tackling the man to the ground while another kicked his head repeatedly, were suspended. 

Mexico has faced pressure from its north, south and from citizens within its own borders in recent weeks as thousands of migrants have streamed through the country in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is continuing to struggle with a surge in border crossings since the president came into office and reversed many Trump-era policies.

Migrant arrests have soared to 20-year highs this year. 

Data released by US Customs and Border Protection reported 212,672 encounters in July, the most up-to-date data the agency has made public, taking the number of migrants stopped for illegal border entry to 1,331,822 for fiscal year 2021.

It was revealed last month that the Biden administration aims to hire an additional 1,000 asylum officers and another 1,000 support staff. The hiring spree would more than double the current crop of about 800 asylum officers and would be funded either by Congress or immigration application fee hikes. 

Data released by US Customs and Border Protection in July, the most recent data the agency has released, showed that the U.S. Border Patrol reported 212,672 encounters in the southwestern border region in July 2021

Data released by US Customs and Border Protection in July, the most recent data the agency has released, showed that the U.S. Border Patrol reported 212,672 encounters in the southwestern border region in July 2021

Monday's is at least the fourth caravan that has been broken up after departing from the Chiapas city of Tapachula, where shelters are overwhelmed, in recent days. Pictured are immigrants being detained in Huixtla on the night of September 5

Monday's is at least the fourth caravan that has been broken up after departing from the Chiapas city of Tapachula, where shelters are overwhelmed, in recent days. Pictured are immigrants being detained in Huixtla on the night of September 5

Mexican Border Control personel detain a migrant in Huixtla on September 4

Mexican Border Control personel detain a migrant in Huixtla on September 4

Migrants get ready to spend the night in Huixtla on September 4.

Migrants get ready to spend the night in Huixtla on September 4. 

An agent of the National Migration Institute (INM) is pictured detaining a migrant family in the town of Huixtla on September 5

An agent of the National Migration Institute (INM) is pictured detaining a migrant family in the town of Huixtla on September 5

Mexican National Guardsmen and border patrol agents carry out operations in Huixtla, Chiapas on September 5

Mexican National Guardsmen and border patrol agents carry out operations in Huixtla, Chiapas on September 5

In August, a divided Supreme Court ordered the Biden administration to reinstate the Trump-era policy, called Migrant Protection Protocols and better known as 'Remain in Mexico.'

Per its name, the legislation forces migrants to wait for months south of the border as their asylum claims are processed. The court intervened after the Biden administration halted the policy shortly after the president's inauguration. 

On Thursday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that the strategy of containing migrants in his country's southern states was untenable without investment in the root causes of migration.

'We cannot just be detaining, holding back, we must address the causes,' he said.

Obrador said he would urge the Biden administration to fund his development projects, including tree-planting and youth employment programs.

On Thursday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that the strategy of containing migrants in his country's southern states was untenable without investment in the root causes of migration. Pictured are Mexican border control police in Huixtla on September 4

On Thursday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that the strategy of containing migrants in his country's southern states was untenable without investment in the root causes of migration. Pictured are Mexican border control police in Huixtla on September 4

Mexico has faced pressure from its north, south and from citizens within its own borders in recent weeks as thousands of migrants have streamed through the country in recent weeks. Pictured is another migrant caravan taking a rest in Ejido Guadalupe, also in the state of Chiapas, on September 5

Mexico has faced pressure from its north, south and from citizens within its own borders in recent weeks as thousands of migrants have streamed through the country in recent weeks. Pictured is another migrant caravan taking a rest in Ejido Guadalupe, also in the state of Chiapas, on September 5

Migrants traveling from Tapachula to Ejido Guadalupe in Mexico's state of Chiapas are pictured travelling en masse on September 5

 Migrants traveling from Tapachula to Ejido Guadalupe in Mexico's state of Chiapas are pictured travelling en masse on September 5

He said the initiatives could create 330,000 jobs in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador - the 'Northern Triangle,' where most undocumented immigrants to the US come from - within six months. 

About 19,000 of the 77,000 plus applicants waiting for acceptance to the US in Mexico, though, are Haitians that would not be impacted by the development projects.

These Haitians, who have fled their country in record numbers since their President Jovenel Moïse's assassination gave way to increased gang violence, have engaged in increasingly fervent protest in Tapachula in recent weeks.   

Also on Thursday, California federal court judge Cynthia Bashant ruled against the United States' renewed decision to keep migrants awaiting approval for asylum claims Mexico, calling it unconstitutional.

Bashant's decision does not impose an immediate impact - however, it could set a precedent preventing similar rulings justified by a lack of resources in the future.  

It could also bring relief to some of the tens of thousands of people who put their names on unofficial waiting lists in Mexican border towns.

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