Migrants Set Up Camp in Mexico, Await Journey to US

Dozens of migrants set up camp in Brisas Barra de Suchiate, in southern Mexico, after crossing into the country from Guatemala, as they wait to continue their journeys to the United States.

Meanwhile, in the capital city, the Mexican and Guatemalan presidents meet to discuss the issue of migration.

The presidents of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, held talks on migration during a meeting in the Mexican border city of Tapachula.

The Mexican leader welcomed his Guatemalan counterpart in a brief ceremony in this border town in the state of Chiapas, after which they began a private meeting with their respective delegations.

"We will meet, we will discuss several issues, and I am sure there will be results," López Obrador said in a short welcoming speech for Arévalo.

"We want a border that unites our peoples, the Mexican and Guatemalan people; a border that allows us to develop and grow together, with reciprocal benefit," the Guatemalan president said.

Mexico has been a common route for hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants seeking to reach the United States each year, escaping poverty and violence in their home countries.

The migration issue has worsened since the end of 2018, coinciding with López Obrador's arrival in the Mexican presidency, which he will conclude on October 1.

Numerous caravans, some with thousands of people, have crossed Mexican territory from the Guatemalan border, causing severe tensions with the United States.

Mexico, particularly after border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, has become a de facto "third safe country" where migrants wait, sometimes for over a year, for their appointment in the U.S. to request asylum.