OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 2:10 PM PT — Sunday, January 19, 2020
More than 2,000 Central American migrants attempted to storm the
Mexico-Guatemala border on Saturday. Thousands of migrants reportedly
tried to push their way through a bridge spanning the Suchiate River as
the Mexican National Guard blocked their path.The agency said it had to reinforce several points along the country’s southern border to assure “safe, orderly and regular immigration.”
This came after Mexico’s president announced he has thousands of jobs available for those traveling north. On Friday, Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he is offering 4,000 jobs to migrants heading to the country.
“The same as our fellow countrymen,
there is a way for them to have work. My ideal is: full employment, work
for everyone. Work and the right to work, both are guaranteed.”
– Andrés Manuel López Obrador, President of Mexico
“I won’t steal from anyone, I won’t harm anyone, but I am going with the intention of giving my children a future,” said one migrant. “That’s the idea I have.”
President Trump previously advised the region to prevent migrants from reaching the U.S.-Mexico border.
“The truth is that we don’t expect the same as last year to happen, because last year was pretty terrible,” stated river raftsman Marvin Garcia. “We even suffered from tear gas that was shot because the people who came here, undocumented, caused riots.”
The Mexican government has sent authorities to the country’s southern border to stop any migrants from passing through without proper documentation.
“They can’t come in because it would be a violation of the law,” stated Commissioner Francisco Garduño. “Everyone has to get in line, register, apply for immigration status and they will determine what the legal procedures are.”
U.S. border agents and Guatemalan authorities have already sent nearly 300 migrants back to Honduras amid their journey to the U.S. this week.
