New US-bound group of migrants departs from El Salvador

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A new group of migrants bound for the United States set off from El Salvador on Sunday, following thousands of other Central Americans fleeing poverty and violence who have taken similar journeys in recent days.

The group of more than 300 Salvadorans left the capital San Salvador on Sunday. A larger group of mostly Hondurans, estimated to number at least 3,500, who left their country in mid-October and are now in southern Mexico, has become a key issue in US congressional elections.

A third group have been moving through Guatemala, at one point numbering more than 1,000 people before beginning to fragment. Hundreds of that group broke through a Guatemala border gate in Tecun Uman, and on Sunday afternoon were on the bridge into Mexico.

People belonging to a caravan of migrants from El Salvador en route to the United States, try to board a bus in Sonsonate, October 28, 2018. /VCG Photo

US President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans have sought to make immigration a major issue ahead of November 6 elections, in which the party is battling to keep control of Congress.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on "Fox News Sunday" said Trump was determined to use every authority he had to stop immigrants from crossing the border illegally.

"We have a crisis at the border right now ... This caravan is one iteration of that but frankly we essentially see caravans every day with these numbers," she said.

People pray before departing with a caravan of migrants from El Salvador en route to the United States, in San Salvador, October 28, 2018. /VCG Photo

"I think what the president is making clear is every possible action, authority, executive program, is on the table to consider, to ensure that it is clear that there is a right and legal way to come to this country and no other ways will be tolerated."

Trump has threatened to shut down the border with Mexico and last week said he would send troops. On Friday, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis authorized the use of troops and other military resources at the US-Mexico border.

By Sunday afternoon, dozens of the Salvadorans had arrived at the border with Guatemala and were having their documents checked, having walked and hitched rides in pickups and on buses from the capital.

A woman holds her son before departing with a caravan of migrants from El Salvador en route to the United States, in San Salvador, October 28, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

El Salvador's government said it had solidarity with the migrants and respected their right to mobilize, but urged them not to risk their lives on the way.

In Mexico, the original group of Hondurans, exhausted by constant travel in blistering heat, spent Sunday resting up in the town of Tapanatepec, Oaxaca, planning to head north at 3 a.m. on Monday.

It's estimated that 2,300 children were traveling with the migrant caravan, according to UNICEF in a statement, adding that they needed protection and access to essential services like healthcare, clean water and sanitation.

Source(s): Reuters