Nearly 8,000-strong migrant caravan heads toward the US, Blinken urges Mexico help end 'irregular migration'
A migrant caravan numbering thousands of people from Central and Southern America is making its way through southern Mexico this week en route to the United States.
The caravan, which is estimated to include 8,000 migrants, comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a senior U.S. delegation are meeting with Mexican officials, including Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to discuss the current migrant surge at the U.S.-Mexico border.
On the social media platform X, Blinken said both sides discussed ways to discuss the "irregular migration."
"The U.S.-Mexico partnership is crucial to prosperity and security in our countries and throughout the Americas," Blinken wrote. "Good to discuss these issues, and our shared efforts to reduce irregular migration, with [López Obrador] today in Mexico City."
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Blinken’s description of "irregular migration" matches other language used by the State Department but appears to clash with the messaging from President Biden and the White House.
On Friday, the State Department first announced Blinken would be traveling to Mexico with Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and White House Homeland Security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall to discuss "unprecedented irregular migration" as well as "identify ways Mexico and the United States will address border security challenges."
However, the White House has downplayed the record-high levels of immigration by describing current figures – as many as 10,000 migrants arrested daily at the southwest U.S. border this month – as a seasonal surge.
There were 242,418 migrant encounters at the southern border in November – the highest November on record and the third-highest month ever.
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When asked about the November figure, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the increases in numbers are "not unusual."
"What we’re seeing here at the border, the increased migration flow, certainly, it ebbs and flows," Jean-Pierre said. "And we’re at a time of the year where we’re seeing more at the border. And it’s not unusual. This is an immigration system that has been broken for decades. And the president has taken this very seriously to try to do more. That’s why we have the comprehensive immigration policy legislation that the president put forth on day one."
During the four-day Christmas weekend, there were more than 35,000 migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border, and since Dec. 1, there have been over 250,000 migrant encounters. December could break the monthly record for encounters set in September (269,735).
On Tuesday, the caravan passed by Mexico’s main inland immigration inspection point outside the town of Huixtla, in southern Chiapas state and was seen traveling north.
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The caravan started out on Christmas Eve from the city of Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala, with many migrants spending Christmas sleeping outside.
The group mostly included single adults but also had entire families, all eager to reach the U.S. border.
In the past, Mexico has let migrants go through their southern border, trusting that they would tire themselves out walking along the highway.
This has historically been the case as, according to The Associated Press, no migrant caravan has walked the entire 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) to the U.S. border. However, in recent years, migrants have secured access via buses, trains and other transportation to get them to the border.
Fox News’ Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.