(PatriotsUnited.org) – A 3,000-strong migrant caravan is currently traveling from Tapachula, Chiapas State, Mexico in a bid to cross the U.S. border ahead of November’s election.
The caravan, which departed from Ciudad Hidalgo, a city in southern Mexico, on Sunday, consists of individuals who have been residing there for weeks while awaiting permits to travel further north. Miguel Salazar, a 37-year-old from El Salvador, explained that most of the group intends to secure appointments through the CBP One app, a tool launched by the Biden administration to streamline the asylum-seeking process. Salazar expressed concern that these permits could be blocked if Trump, known for his hardline immigration stance, returns to power. “We are running the risk that permits to cross the border might be blocked,” they told the press.
Former President Trump is known for his tougher stance on illegal immigration, and has claimed he will scrap what he has termed Biden’s “open-border policies,” should he regain the Presidency. He has also referred to rising illegal immigration on the southern border as an “invasion” responsible for upticks in crime.
The Biden White House has attempted to liberalize immigration pathways, including via the rollout of the CBP One app. This program permits migrants to schedule asylum claim appointments at fixed entry points.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has also weighed in on the issue, firmly describing Trump as “a friend” and “a man of intelligence and vision.” López Obrador said he plans to send a new letter to Trump, arguing that migrants by and large do not traffic drugs into the U.S. and that closing the border would be both impractical and economically detrimental. “U.S. manufacturers, including automakers, wouldn’t last a month with the border closed,” he claimed, suggesting that the cost of moving manufacturing back to America would significantly raise the price of automobiles for U.S. consumers. Others complain that illegal immigrants are a strain on the U.S. economy by pushing down wages and accessing welfare programs including tax-funded healthcare benefits.
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