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Migrant caravan "De la Mano de Dios" departs Tapachula for Mexico City seeking better conditions
🇲🇽 Mexico /Culture & Society

Migrant caravan "De la Mano de Dios" departs Tapachula for Mexico City seeking better conditions

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • A caravan of approximately 200 migrants departed Tapachula, Mexico, heading towards Mexico City in search of better work conditions and to continue their regularization processes.
  • Migrants cited delays, negligence, and lack of response from the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) as reasons for leaving.
  • This is the third such caravan this year, with previous ones being dispersed by authorities; migrants are currently not aiming for the U.S. due to stricter immigration policies.

A caravan of about 200 migrants, calling itself "De la Mano de Dios" (Hand of God), began its journey Saturday morning from Tapachula, in southern Mexico, towards Mexico City and other central states. Their goal is to find better employment opportunities and advance their efforts to obtain legal status in Mexico.

We are leaving the southern border due to the slowness, negligence, and inattention of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance, because for months we went to that agency for processing and did not get a response or solution.

— MigrantsThe migrants explained their reasons for leaving Tapachula and heading north.

The migrants expressed frustration with the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR), citing "delays, negligence, and inattention" after months of seeking responses for their applications. They also highlighted the economic hardship of not being able to find work without proper documentation, which has forced some to live on the streets due to inability to pay rent.

This caravan marks the third attempt this year by migrants to leave the southern border region en masse. Previous caravans, one in March with 500 people and another in April with nearly a thousand, were dispersed by government authorities along the route between Chiapas and Oaxaca. Since October 2024, approximately 19 caravans have departed Tapachula.

The economic situation is complicated, we can't find employment because they require documentation. These restrictions have forced us to spend days on the streets because we couldn't pay rent.

— MigrantsThe migrants described their difficulties in finding work and housing without proper documents.

Unlike previous years, the migrants are not currently focused on reaching the United States, citing the "hardening of migratory policies" under President Donald Trump. One migrant from Honduras, who had lived in the U.S. for over two decades before being deported, stated his intention to try crossing again to reunite with his family.

I will try to cross to that country to join my three children and my wife.

— AlejandroA migrant from Honduras described his determination to reach the United States despite past deportation.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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