Another caravan is headed towards the United States, with 2,500 illegal aliens from Central America and the Caribbean. Mexico plans to provide limited humanitarian visas to caravan riders to persuade them from heading north to the United States. According to the National Migration Institute (INM), Mexico will prioritize those who need visas, with women, children and migrants over the age of 65 coming first, Fox News reported.
Mexico made changes to their humanitarian visa process. Instead of providing visas to illegal aliens at the border, they're now providing them in the southern most part of the country. Caravans are no longer allowed to spend the night in cities and fewer Mexican citizens are providing food, water and transportations to caravan riders.
The INM plans to provide "transportation back to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras for citizens of those countries, and air transport home to migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua."
To keep caravans from coming through Mexico in the future, INM will issue humanitarian visas in the capitals of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, as well as in San Pedro Sula, Honduras beginning in mid-May.
"The goal of the visa restrictions, the institute said, has been to achieve a more orderly, regulated and safe international movement of people," Fox News reported.
The move comes after President Donald Trump threatened to close the United States-Mexico border. Trump took to Twitter on Friday to explain his position:
The DEMOCRATS have given us the weakest immigration laws anywhere in the World. Mexico has the strongest, & they make more than $100 Billion a year on the U.S. Therefore, CONGRESS MUST CHANGE OUR WEAK IMMIGRATION LAWS NOW, & Mexico must stop illegals from entering the U.S....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2019
....through their country and our Southern Border. Mexico has for many years made a fortune off of the U.S., far greater than Border Costs. If Mexico doesn’t immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States throug our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2019
....the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week. This would be so easy for Mexico to do, but they just take our money and “talk.” Besides, we lose so much money with them, especially when you add in drug trafficking etc.), that the Border closing would be a good thing!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2019
He slammed the Democrats on Sunday for their "asylum system and major loopholes":
The Democrats are allowing a ridiculous asylum system and major loopholes to remain as a mainstay of our immigration system. Mexico is likewise doing NOTHING, a very bad combination for our Country. Homeland Security is being sooo very nice, but not for long!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 31, 2019
On Monday, Trump reiterated his position:
Democrats, working with Republicans in Congress, can fix the Asylum and other loopholes quickly. We have a major National Emergency at our Border. GET IT DONE NOW!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2019
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen also took to Twitter over the weekend to share her position on the situation, saying there's a "dire situation at the border."
We have a dire situation at the border. Late last year, DHS apprehended or encountered 50-60k migrants a month. Last month, it was more than 75k, the highest in over a decade. This month, we are on track to interdict nearly 100,000 migrants. Congress must act to end this crisis!
— Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) March 29, 2019
.@DHSgov facilities are overflowing, agents and officers are stretched too thin, and the magnitude of arriving and detained aliens has increased the risk of life-threatening incidents. I call on Congress to fix this broken system!
— Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) March 29, 2019
My greatest concern is for the children, who are put at high risk by this emergency and who are arriving sicker than ever before after traveling on the treacherous trek.
— Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) March 29, 2019
We must work together to end the pull factors driving illegal immigration and punish the criminal organizations who prey on these vulnerable populations.
— Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) March 29, 2019
According to Nielsen, the Department of Homeland Security resources are overrun and Congress needs to act:
We face a cascading crisis at our southern border. The system is in freefall. @DHSgov is doing everything possible to respond to a growing humanitarian catastrophe while also securing our borders, but we have reached peak capacity & are now forced to pull from other missions.
— Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) March 29, 2019
Let me be clear: the volume of vulnerable populations arriving is without precedent. This makes it far more difficult to care for them and to prioritize individuals legitimately fleeing persecution.
— Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) March 29, 2019
Smugglers and traffickers know that our laws make it easier to enter the country and stay if you show up as a ‘family.’ So they are using children as a ‘free ticket’ into America and are even using kids multiple times—recycling them—to help more aliens get into the United States.
— Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) March 29, 2019
Our border stations were not designed to hold young people for extended periods, yet this influx has forced thousands into overwhelmed facilities. This goes well beyond politics. We must come together to tackle the crisis & reduce the flows so children are not put at risk.
— Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) March 29, 2019
Any system that encourages a parent to send their child alone on this terrible journey—where they are exploited, pawned, and recycled—is completely broken.
— Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) March 29, 2019
That is why I'm redirecting additional personnel & resources from across @DHSgov to assist with the response. I've put out a call Department-wide for volunteers to provide support to our frontline agencies, and I am appealing to interagency partners for further assistance.
— Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) March 29, 2019
The truth is that it will not be enough, so this week I notified Congress that @DHSgov will need emergency legislative action to restore order, achieve operational control of our border & ensure we can fulfill our humanitarian responsibilities effectively. https://t.co/a666XUNDOv
— Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen (@SecNielsen) March 29, 2019