Guatemalan officials announced the deployment of 4,000 soldiers to patrol its southern border to stop another group of caravan migrants from making their way north. U.S. Customs and Border Protection warned the migrants about the risks associated with the perilous and often deadly journey that will not lead to successful entry into the United States.
“Control will be strengthened with the borders we share with Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador and on the area of adjacency with Belize,” Guatemalan military spokesman Rubén Téllez told Reuters, according to CubaNet.org. He said his government will deploy up to 4,000 soldiers. The Salvadoran Air Force will also participate in the effort to stop the northward migration.
Guatemalan officials reported they would only allow Hondurans with a valid passport and a negative Coronavirus test to cross their southern border.
Honduran General Tito Livio Moreno said his country will also deploy soldiers to aid in stopping illegal border crossings from that country into Guatemala.
CBP Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan warned migrants not to attempt the dangerous trek.
“This is a deadly journey – the U.S. Border Patrol recovered more than 250 bodies along the U.S.-Mexico Border last fiscal year,” Morgan said in a written statement on Friday. “These smugglers are reckless with human life – they do not care for the safety of migrants or law enforcement.”
“Do not waste your time and money, and do not risk your safety and health,” the commissioner warned. “The dangerous journey both puts you in harm’s way and endangers the lives and health of those in the U.S. and regional countries through the potential spread of COVID-19.”
“COVID-19 compounds the risk of their activities, not only to migrants but also to healthcare workers, frontline officers, and agents, and to the communities that migrants pass through on their journey,” he explained.
The commissioner praised the efforts of our “partners in Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, and the rest of the region” for their commitment to the rule of law and public health.
“I am proud to stand in solidarity with friends and partners throughout the region who are committed to uphold the rule of law, manage safe, orderly, and legal migration, and prevent a humanitarian and health crisis,” Morgan wrote. “Our message is clear – if you enter a country illegally or violate public health orders, you will face immediate action, including being returned home immediately, detained, or prosecuted.”
Under Title 42 Coronavirus protection protocols put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 90 percent of migrants apprehended after illegally crossing the border into the United States are expelled to Mexico within two hours of their apprehension.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s Sunday-morning talk show, What’s Your Point? Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, Parler @BobPrice, and Facebook.