Thousands of people from Central America have reached the city of Queretaro in central Mexico on their way to the United States. On Saturday, about 2,000 of the mostly Honduran refugees arrived in the capital of the state of the same name and were housed in a football stadium.
Nearly 3,000 more people, who also left the Mexican capital Mexico City yesterday morning, are still expected in Queretaro.
The migrants had previously spent days in a sports center in Mexico City. Of the more than 5,500 people, 1,300 continued their march on Friday night.
In subway cars brought from the city
Most people were taken in the morning in subway cars from the city to the border of the state of Mexico. From there they walked on to the motorway to Queretaro. Some had babies on their arms or children in pajamas by the hand.
In recent days, refugees have tried in vain to get buses to travel through the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). They stopped cars and trucks at the highway, taking them to Queretaro. „Thanks Mexico,“ they shouted from the vehicles to passers-by.
Since their departure from the city of San Pedro Sula in Honduras, people have traveled more than 1,500 kilometers. Two more refugee trains started in Honduras in mid-October, each with about 2,000 people, also want to enter the US.
USA tighten asylum law
US President Donald Trump had turned against the refugees before the congressional elections on Tuesday. He sent some 4,800 troops to the Mexican border to stop people fleeing poverty and crime in their homeland. The US Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that in the future, only people who apply at an official border crossing to the US are likely to apply for asylum.
