Mexico has not yet arrested thousands of migrants


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And although their numbers have dwindled in recent days, many claim that they are destined for the United States, undeterred by the Trump government's plans to send troops to the border and – up to 39. here – insane by the attempts of the Mexican authorities to convince them to stay.
The tense situation has forced the Mexican authorities to walk the tightrope – trying to calm the US government while remaining faithful to a strategy more in line with the political objectives of their own country. The stated goal: to treat migrants with dignity and to respect human rights, while enforcing immigration laws.
On a video posted on Twitter on Friday, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto does his pitch.

"We are a country that values ​​and recognizes the dignity of migrant people," he said. "We almost all have a relative or a close friend who has migrated."

According to a plan entitled "You are at home", officials said that working-age migrants could apply for asylum and would be eligible for certain jobs, provided that they stay in Chiapas or Oaxaca, two states of southern Mexico. The migrants are currently in Oaxaca, probably a few weeks from the US border.

Even before the announcement of Peña Nieto, more than 2,700 migrants from this large group had filed for asylum in Mexico and hundreds had voluntarily agreed to return to their country of origin. But thousands of others continued to head north.

Negotiations during a police blockade

They left in the darkness of dawn on Saturday, a routine they had been following for days. But while they were walking on a freeway outside Arriaga, Mexico, they soon realized that this morning hike would not be like the others.

A police wall in riot gear greeted them, blocking their passage.

A police wall in riot gear blocked a highway Saturday to arrest thousands of migrants in the state of Chiapas in Mexico.

For hours, the representatives of the migrants negotiated with the authorities. Police said they had blocked the group to talk to them about the government's new plan.

Police said they blocked the caravan to explain the offer of help from his country.

Migrants refused to register and the police eventually let them go – provided that the members of the group remained open to negotiation in future judgments.

Tear gas while another group is trying to cross

As this group continues on its way, other large groups of Central American migrants are following in their footsteps, including another group of about 3,000 people who have reached the border between Guatemala and the United States. Mexico Sunday.

The situation quickly escalated, according to Michelle Mendoza, correspondent for CNN en Español, who reported the scene.

Clashes between Guatemalan riot police and Honduran migrants attempting to cross the international border bridge between Guatemala and Mexico in Ciudad Tecun Uman, Guatemala, on October 28, 2018.

The migrants threw stones and sticks. Mexican forces fired tear gas.

According to the Attorney General's Office in Guatemala, Henry Adalid Díaz Reyes, a 26-year-old Honduran national, lost his life. The authorities are investigating.

Several other migrants and police were slightly injured. Mexican Interior Minister Alfonso Navarrete condemned the violence, saying that "attackers" arrived armed with Molotov cocktails.

"The only way to enter Mexico is to follow immigration laws," he said.

Monday, many who had been arrested on the border bridge the day before seemed to wade Suchiate river from Guatemala to Mexico.

It is unclear how the authorities will treat them from the other side.

What do Mexicans think of migrants from Central America? It's complicated

Mexico has always had complex relations with migrants from Central America.

For years, during the often dangerous journey through Mexico, migrants from Central America have been victims of cartel violence and have been harshly criticized by locals.

In Mexico, immigrants from Central America under fire
While many Mexicans have greeted passing migrants with food and donations, a recent poll of El Universal newspaper revealed that not everyone was ready to roll out the welcome mat. .

47.8% of those surveyed replied in the affirmative, while 37.8% were against. Others said that they were undecided or that they did not have a strong feeling anyway.

According to the newspaper, nearly a third of respondents said they believed that undocumented migrants should be expelled from the country immediately.

Claudia Dominguez, Jaide Garcia, Natalie Gallon and Jennifer Deaton of CNN contributed to this report.

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