EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS: Mexican Cops Escort Migrant Caravan Trying to Beat Trump’s Inauguration

A new migrant caravan departed Mexico’s southern border in an attempt to reach the U.S. border before the arrival of a new Trump administration. Mexican immigration officials stood by as the caravan departed while police forces escorted them.

On Tuesday morning, approximately 2,500 migrants departed from Tapachula, Chiapas, on their way to Mexico City. As in the case of other caravans, once the migrants reach Mexico City, they are expected to disband as they find various ways of quickly reaching the U.S. border, such as commercial flights, passenger buses, or other vehicles.

Due to the size of the caravan, Mexican police vehicles escorted the migrants and directed traffic around them.

Breitbart Texas spoke with a high-ranking official from Mexico’s National Immigration Institute stationed in Chiapas. The official revealed that the migrants in the caravan have been spending months in Chiapas waiting for an appointment with the Biden-Harris administration’s CBP One app. The members of the caravan had entered Mexico through its southern border, and most had requested a Mexican permit, the official said.

That permit allows them to stay in the country while they wait for the appointment. Due to the long waits for their hearing appointments and the growing fear that the asylum rules would change with a new administration, the migrants became the latest of several recent caravans that began their journey north in hopes of entering the U.S. and being allowed to stay.

Since most migrants had permits, Mexican immigration officials could not stop them from making the journey. Law enforcement simply stood by as the caravan began. Some of the agents photographed the caravan for internal documentation within the agency.

This week, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum criticized Donald J. Trump over his claims that if elected, he would be imposing tariffs on Mexico if the country did not stop the growing number of migrants and asylum seekers making the journey to the U.S.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.     

“Williams Cortez” from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.