Hundreds of Migrants From Caravan Arrive in Tijuana

Hundreds of migrants in the caravan from Central America have already arrived at the Mexican border city of Tijuana, the Associated Press reports. Mexican officials are reportedly struggling to deal with a group of 357 migrants who arrived on nine buses on Tuesday, and another 398 that arrived Wednesday. Tijuana’s head of migrant services, Cesar Palencia Chavez, told the AP that they were already facing obstacles in accommodating the migrants because many of them wanted to stay in a single shelter, which was not possible due to shelter size and constraints.

It is reportedly unclear how Tijuana authorities will handle the estimated 7,000 to 10,000 other migrants that are headed to the border, fleeing “poverty, gang violence and political instability” in Central America. The main bulk of the caravan is reportedly about 1,100 miles away from the U.S. border but is said to be “moving hundreds of miles per day.” The U.S. reportedly said it would start work to “harden” the Tijuana border crossing on Tuesday ahead of the arrival of many migrants. Josue Vargas, a migrant who spent over a month on the road before arriving in Tijuana, said, “Mexico has been excellent.” The “United States remains to be seen,” he added.