INM Offers to Process Documents for Thousands of People in the Caravan

By Elio Henríquez

Commissioner Francisco Garduño commits to delivering permits, activist Luis García states.
Yesterday’s walk along the highway to Huixtla, in Chiapas. The majority of the members of the caravan are Central American and Venezuelan.

Yesterday’s walk along the highway to Huixtla, in Chiapas. The majority of the members of the caravan are Central American and Venezuelan.

-Huixtla, Chiapas
The National Institute of Migration offered to provide documents to the thousands of migrants that are participating in the caravan tha arrived midday yesterday in the municipality of Huixtla, after walking 42 kilometers in 2 days, reported Luis García Villagrán, director of the Center for Human Dignity. 

In an interview, he indicated that the foreigners will wait until midday today for the authorities to fulfill their commitment, but if the documents are not delivered, they will continue to Mapastepec. They said that tomorrow (today) they will begin with the first 500. 

He added, “I had a call from the migratory authority from Mexico City, in which they are committed to give me documents such as multiple visas, exit permits and humanitarian visas that they are going to deliver as of tomorrow (Wednesday) to the 11 thousand or 16 thousand migrants that are participating with us in this movement. We will see if it is true. 

The thousands of migrants, mostly Venezuelans, many children and women, that left at 4 in the morning from ejido Álvaro Obregón, Tapachula [Chiapas] began arriving in Huixtla in small groups since 9 in the morning and began to settle in the municipal dome, on the sidewalks and whatever free space they found. 

Many young people in the vanguard of the caravan, including women with children, walked spread out in small groups, took combis, trucks, motor taxis or hitched rides, all under watch of INM and National Guard agents that patrolled the highway. 

Arrests

García Villagrán, organizer of the walk, confirmed that in the morning, just before arriving to Huixtla, National Guard agents intercepted 160 foreigners that had gone ahead in small groups, for which he demanded that INM cease the detentions.

He commented that through the Beta group for migrant support, authorities of the INM contacted him in the morning to talk. 

By the afternoon, he reported that the commissioner of the INM, Francisco Garduño, had communicated with him to offer to deliver documents to members of the caravan. 

According to his own words, they will be working 24 hours a day in the office closest to Huixtla to test the first thousand, then the next thousand, until everyone gets their document to cross Mexican territory, he stated, at the same time he confirmed that more than 15 people are participating in the contingent, 80 percent from Venezuela. 

We have always been open to dialogue, always, whenever it is responsible. A week ago we turned in a list when there were 7500 migrants, but they didn’t tell us anything and now we are 15 thousand that are coming, he explained. 

Pastor Heyman Vázquez Medina, from the parish of Huixtla, said that he made a call to the population to support the migrants with water and food.

This article was published in La Jornada on June 8th, 2022. https://www.jornada.com.mx/2022/06/08/politica/010n1pol English interpretation re-published by Schools for Chiapas.

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