Oct 28, 2021 - World

Mexico to give visas to pregnant women and children in migrant caravan

Julia Sclafani

Man carrying young boy walks ahead of a caravan of people. — Members of a migrant caravan walk into the interior of Mexico after crossing the Guatemalan border on October 21, 2018. Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

Mexico announced Thursday it will give temporary humanitarian visas to children and pregnant women who are traveling with a migrant caravan currently moving north through the country.

Driving the news: A recent caravan of Central American and Caribbean migrants is traveling towards Mexico City and the U.S. and comprised largely of families with children, per Reuters.

Details: Eligible migrants will be granted one-year humanitarian visas, the Mexican Ministry of Interior announced.

With the visa, migrants will have access to shelters and food, the announcement said.
The government said "from the first moment when the group of migrants left Tapachula, Chiapas, on October 23, the immigration authority has followed up and offered assistance" to the migrants.

Yes, but: On Saturday, hundreds of Mexican law enforcement officers in anti-riot gear blockaded the group's path at a highway checkpoint near the Guatemalan border, per Reuters.

"Authorities did not want to become embroiled in violent confrontations due to the number of children and pregnant women in the caravan," Reuters reports.

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Mexico to give visas to pregnant women and children in migrant caravan

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