A migrant caravan with Cubans departs from southern Mexico on the same day as the elections in the U.S

On the same day that the United States holds elections to decide the president for the 2025-2029 term, two migrant caravans, including Cubans, set off from southern Mexico aiming to reach the northern border.

According to the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, the largest group of caravan members departed from Tapachula, consisting of around 2,500 foreigners from Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. Meanwhile, another group of about 500 people set out from the capital of the municipality of Tuxtla Gutiérrez.

"We scheduled it for this date so that the governments of Mexico and the United States will pay attention to us as a working class that increasingly wants to achieve a dream and a goal, which is to reach the United States with a legal immigration plan and a job opportunity," stated the Venezuelan Heyson Díaz.

Regarding the caravan that departed from Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Luis García Villagrán, the director of the Center for Human Dignification, stated that the destination is Mexico City, with a stop in the municipality of Arriaga, located on the Chiapas coast, to await the caravan that left from Tapachula.

After gathering in that location, the caravan participants will walk to Juchitán, Oaxaca, where they will hold a meeting to decide which route they will take to Mexico City, in order to avoid smugglers and extortionists.

"People are afraid, but many will be moving out in a 'ant operation,'" stated the official, who also noted that the group includes migrants from Central America, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Cuba, and other countries.

It was recently reported that among the hundreds of migrants who have been flooding the offices of the National Migration Institute (INM) at the southern border of Mexico these days to expedite and verify their CBP One appointments in order to request asylum in the United States, there are also Cubans.

César Augusto Cañaveral Pérez, coordinator of the Human Mobility Pastoral in Tapachula, explained to the EFE agency that the majority are from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, although there are also individuals from other nationalities.

In the 2024 United States presidential elections, the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and the Republican Donald Trump present contrasting immigration approaches.

Harris suggests strengthening border security by maintaining some of the Biden administration's restrictive asylum policies, such as increasing the number of Border Patrol agents and implementing stricter controls in asylum processes to reduce illegal crossings.

Additionally, it seeks a comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, prioritizing family reunification and providing opportunities for regularization.

For his part, Trump has proposed more restrictive control measures. His platform includes a promise to carry out the largest mass deportation in U.S. history, targeting the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants.