We want USA not Mexico: Defiant caravan migrants reject Mexican President’s offer of works visas, health care AND housing and march towards US – despite POTUS threatening executive order to deny their entry
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said that migrants wishing to obtain temporary identification documents, jobs or education for their children could do so by registering for asylum in southern Mexico
To qualify for the scheme he called ‘Estas en Tu Casa’ (‘Make Yourself at Home’) migrants had to be in the southern states of Chiapas and Oaxaca, Pena Nieto said
But on Friday, a resilient crowd in Arriaga said ‘thank you’ before adding that they were still going to head ‘north’ for the border
‘Our goal is not to remain in Mexico,’ Oscar Sosa, a 58-year-old man from Honduras, said. ‘Our goal is to make it to the (U.S). We want passage, that’s all’
Mexico’s government has said that more than 1,700 people in the convoy have registered for asylum, while others have returned home
Estimates on the size of the group vary
President Trump was considering an executive order that would allow the U.S. to deny asylum seekers’ claims if they enter illegally as part of the caravan
DAILYMAIL.COM
27 October 2018
Thousands of Central American migrants have vowed to head for the U.S. border early on Saturday morning, rejecting an offer to apply for refugee status in Mexico with the contingency that they stayed in the country’s two southernmost states.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said that migrants wishing to obtain temporary identification documents, jobs or education for their children could do so by registering for asylum in southern Mexico.
‘This plan is only for those who comply with Mexican laws, and it’s a first step towards a permanent solution for those who are granted refugee status in Mexico,’ Pena Nieto said in a pre-recorded address broadcast on Friday afternoon.
To qualify for the scheme he called ‘Estas en Tu Casa’ (‘Make Yourself at Home’) migrants had to be in the southern states of Chiapas and Oaxaca, Pena Nieto said.
But on Friday, a resilient crowd in Arriaga said ‘thank you’ before adding that they were still ‘heading north! for the border.
‘Our goal is not to remain in Mexico,’ 58-year-old Oscar Sosa said to ABC News. ‘Our goal is to make it to the (U.S). We want passage, that’s all.’ Sosa hailed from San Predo Sula, Honduras.
Mexico’s government has said that more than 1,700 people in the convoy have registered for asylum, while others have returned home. Estimates on the size of the group vary.
Alden Rivera, the Honduran ambassador to Mexico, told Mexican radio on Friday that the caravan could reach Mexico City by next Friday. He put an ‘official’ headcount at 3,500, estimating that at least two-thirds of them were Hondurans.
The caravan set off in Honduras nearly two weeks ago, and has picked up other Central Americans en route.
Alexander Fernandez, a Honduran traveling in the caravan, said people began leaving the town of Pijijiapan at about 3 a.m. to head for Arriaga, a town in the west of Chiapas.
A banner hanging over a bridge on the migrants’ path read: ‘Your hearts are brave, don’t give up.’
Tens of thousands of Central Americans set off for the United States every year, looking to escape violence and poverty. Hondurans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans make up the bulk of illegal immigrants apprehended at the U.S. border.
On Thursday night, thousands of people took refuge under small tents or teepees made from garbage bags in Pijijiapan’s town square. Many people rushed to a nearby river in the afternoon to wash off the sweat of travel and extreme heat.
A White House official said on Thursday that ‘a wide range of administrative, legal and legislative options’ were being considered regarding the migrants.
President Trump was considering an executive order that would allow the U.S. to deny asylum seekers’ claims if they enter illegally as part of the caravan.
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