The several thousand migrants traveling in a large group through southern Mexico toward the United States are expected to head to Del Rio, Texas, or Yuma, Arizona, according to two Border Patrol agents who have reviewed government intelligence reports.
The 2,000-3,000 migrants departed the Guatemala-Mexico border heading north on foot late last week. The group is first headed to Mexico City, an 800-mile journey that will take weeks to complete unless the migrants can find transportation. At present, the caravan of people has reportedly traveled 25 miles in four days.
From Mexico City, the group could split off in different directions, depending on whether smugglers escort them or they go it alone with the goal of illegally crossing the U.S. border.
Migrants are traveling north from Tapachula, Mexico Washington Examiner
“Historically, what we’ve seen is the caravan will get to Mexico City, and then, they’ll start to splinter out, and they’ll go to multiple areas along the southwest border,” Mark Morgan, the former senior official performing the duties of Customs and Border Protection commissioner, said in a phone call.
Border Patrol’s intelligence agents will have a better idea of where the migrants plan to cross once the group departs Mexico City, one of the agents wrote in an email. CBP, Border Patrol’s parent agency, has more than 1,000 employees overseas who assist with tracking efforts and notify their U.S.-based counterparts of where to expect large groups of migrants before they arrive.
The same agent said the caravan may steer clear of Texas “because of the political climate,” adding that California “would be much more welcoming.”
In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is preemptively warning caravan members not to travel to Texas, saying that state police will arrest anyone caught trespassing and hold them in jail.
“While the Biden Administration is MIA, the Lone Star State continues to surge resources and personnel to secure our border,” Abbott tweeted on Tuesday.
