Thousands of Migrants Try Pushing Across Bridge

Mexico closes border point after scuffle on bridge between Guatemala and Mexico
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 18, 2020 12:00 PM CST
Over 1K Migrants Fill Bridge
Honduran migrants stand line up for breakfast at a shelter prior to resume they journey in hopes of reaching the United States in Guatemala City, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020.   (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Mexican authorities closed a border entry point in southern Mexico on Saturday after thousands of Central American migrants tried to push their way across a bridge spanning the Suchiate River between Mexico and Guatemala, the AP reports. Normally, migrants who want to request asylum in Mexico are allowed to freely cross the bridge. But many migrants prefer to pass through Mexico en route to the US, a country that has repeatedly asked Mexico to impede their arrival. On Saturday, babies cried and tempers flared as hundreds of Mexican National Guardsmen blocked the path of thousands of migrants. Guatemalan authorities estimated 2,500 migrants were on the bridge over the Suchiate, or attempting to get onto the bridge.

As the crowd swelled, amid shoves, Mexican officials allowed several dozen migrants to enter the country in groups of 20, while a voice over a loudspeaker warned migrants against trying to slip into Mexico without passing through immigration filters. Mexico again finds itself in the role of immigration enforcer as Central Americans desperate for a better life try to make their way north, while Mexico's biggest trade partner—the United States —insists that Mexico prevent those migrants from reaching the US border. Mexico's National Migration Institute said via Twitter on Saturday that it had reinforced multiple points along the country's southern border to assure "safe, orderly and regular immigration." It also said it was using drones to monitor the region.
(More migrants stories.)

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