Will Mexico Stop the Migrant Caravan Headed Toward the U.S. Border?

Article audio sponsored by The John Birch Society

As a caravan of mostly Hondurans estimated to number 7,000 people continued towards the United States on October 21 from the southern Mexican city of Ciudad Hidalgo, observers wonder if the Mexican government will be able to stop them before they reach the U.S.-Mexico border. Ciudad Hidalgo is more than 1,100 miles from Reynosa, across the Rio Grande from McAllen, Texas.

On October 20, Mexican immigration authorities allowed only 640 migrants through the official border crossing on a bridge spanning the river. Several thousand impatient migrants then crossed the river illegally on rafts or simply swam across.

President Trump sent a tweet on Sunday afternoon, saying, “Full efforts are being made to stop the onslaught of illegal aliens from crossing our Southern Border. People have to apply for asylum in Mexico first, and if they fail to do that, the U.S. will turn them away. The courts are asking the U.S. to do things that are not doable!”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met on October 19 with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Videgaray in Mexico City, during which the caravan was a key talking point.

At a news conference with Videgaray, Pompeo called illegal migration a “crisis” and emphasized “the importance of stopping this flow before it reaches the U.S. border,” while also acknowledging Mexico’s right to handle the crisis in a sovereign manner.

“Mexico will make its decision,” Pompeo said. “Its leaders and its people will decide the best way to achieve what I believe are our shared objectives.”

Peña Nieto said in a video message that evening that Mexico will stop the migrants’ plans to travel to the U.S. border without the proper documents. “Mexico will not allow irregular entry into its territory, much less violent,” said Peña Nieto.

That same day, Trump thanked Mexico for its handling of the caravan and repeated his vow to mobilize the military if needed. “[The caravan is] being stopped as of this moment by Mexico,” Trump said at an event in Scottsdale, Arizona. “So we appreciate very much what Mexico’s doing.”

“So as of this moment, I thank Mexico,” the president said. “I hope they continue. But as of this moment, I thank Mexico. If that doesn’t work out, we’re calling up the military — not the [National]Guard.”

“They’re not coming into this country,” Trump added.