Migrant caravan: KPRC2's Jacob Rascon reports in Mexico

KPRC2 anchor Jacob Rascon is in Mexico covering the migrant caravan.

You can keep up with his reports and coverage on social media below:

THURSDAY

We’re at the airport in Oaxaca waiting to fly back to Houston after traveling with the migrant caravan for several days in Mexico. Here are several observations and answers to some of your questions.

Why is it news?

The caravan is news because it is massive. Migrants occasionally travel in groups, but never this big -- at least not in recent history.

Usually, migrants travel one individual, family or small group at a time. They pay for what is called a "coyote" to smuggle them across borders.

The large caravan appears to have inspired others. There are now four large groups headed to the United States with more than 10,000 migrants total, Mexican and Salvadorian officials said.

The caravans are also news because the president of the United States talks about them a lot.

But mass migration from Central America to the United States is not new, right?

That’s right. Last month, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 50,000 immigrants trying to cross the southern border illegally. The vast majority are from Central America.

The equivalent of the largest caravan, about 7,000 people, are apprehended about every week at the border in Texas alone. Last fiscal year, from October 2017 through September 2018, agents apprehended more than a half a million immigrants. The exodus from Central America is massive and constant.

What does the caravan have to do with the midterm elections here?

In early October, three men in Honduras came up with the idea that turned into the largest caravan. They wanted to bring attention to problems in the country. They believed the Honduran government wasn't doing its job. This had nothing to do with American politics.

The only original organizer still with the caravan, Walter Cuello, told me he imagined 300 people or so would show up. But, the idea spread like wildfire on social and other media. Thousands of Hondurans joined spontaneously for their own reasons. They didn't care much or even know about the original vision.

They wanted safety in numbers, dozens of migrants told us. Traveling in a large group also meant migrants didn't have to come up with thousands of dollars to pay a coyote.

They left on Oct. 13th and by Wednesday, 2 1/2 weeks later, they had traveled about 700 miles to Juchitán, nowhere near the United States.

At this rate, traveling 20-50 miles per day, and taking rest days here and there, the caravan won’t arrive at the southern border until sometime in December. By then, the group will likely be much smaller.

Are there migrants with criminal records in the caravan?

There are. We have talked to migrants who admit they were deported from the United States for crimes they don’t want to talk about. 

This week, federal police in Mexico arrested two Hondurans from the second caravan and deported them back to Honduras, where they will face old drug and homicide charges.

Law enforcement from Policía Nacional officers in El Salvador to Border Patrol agent’s in McAllen to members of the FBI gang task force in Houston also tell us that Central American gang members sometimes disguise themselves as unaccompanied minors and fathers with children seeking asylum.

We don’t know how many migrants have criminal records or intentions. Almost every migrant we interviewed over four days with the caravan told us that gang violence and poverty are exactly what compelled them to flee Honduras in the first place.

Is the caravan mostly men?

To me, it looks like more than half of the caravan is men. There are also thousands of women and children in the group.

Who’s in charge?

Cuello is the only original organizer left. He works with a half dozen volunteers from immigrants rights group “Pueblo Sin Fronteras” and Mexican government officials to decide where the caravan stops every day, among other things.

Mexican officials from the state of Oaxaca and the smaller municipalities do a lot of the heavy lifting. They coordinate and make possible a lot of the rides, food and water for bathing and drinking. 

Strangers and nonprofits from towns and cities along the way also provide food, shoes, clothing and other essentials. Mexico City sent doctors this week and local police provide protection, and sometimes rides.

There are many proverbial chefs in the kitchen, including rotating leaders from among the migrants themselves. Every night, different volunteers are chosen to help coordinate meals, form lines and wake everyone up, among other duties.

WEDNESDAY

The caravan will rest on Wednesday while organizers try to convince Mexican officials to give everyone a ride to Mexico City.

It was a party Tuesday night in Juchitán. Youth playing soccer. Hundreds watching Coco on a projector screen. Singing groups and preachers on a stage.

Can they keep this up for several more weeks? They are so far from the border. But it is amazing they made it to this point together. 

Dozens gather near a few outlets to charge phones. Most don’t have them, and many that do have no internet. Even some who speak English and do have the internet don’t know what the president thinks about them.

They live in their own world. A traveling town. Around 7,000 people. Surviving on donations from local government officials. 

Marlene cared for her sick daughter, four-year-old Melaney. They hoped to see their aunt in Houston someday. 

“More than anything, besides working, I want to learn English,” said José Luis, whose best friend lives in Houston.

They ignore political realities in the U.S. They pushed through the border in Guatemala and Mexico, and some believe they will do the same in the U.S.

Tuesday night we decided to look for a hotel. An officer offered to help. The first five hotels were booked, but the sixth had rooms! First time in a bed in three days.

TUESDAY

We slept in our cars near the Niltepec plaza. Thousands of migrants slept nearby on the ground. We all got up around four.

They don’t stay together for long. Before sunrise, the caravan reaches the main road where many men hop on trailers and trucks. Many women and children wait in line for buses provided by the municipality president.

“Pueblos Sin Fronteras,” an immigrant rights group, helps organize people into lines. It’s hard to imagine the caravan keeping this up for a month.

They march and hitch rides for 50-60 miles a day. Various nonprofit and local government groups provide medical care and food. Then they rest and start over.

Now 16 days after the caravan began in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, the group has traveled nearly 700 miles. If they want to end up in Texas, they have 1,000 miles to go. The safer route to California is twice as far.

Either way, they won’t arrive until weeks after the midterms. 

It’s not hard to find migrants here who want to end up in Houston. Marlene Trochez cares for her three children, two of whom are sick.

“It’s hard, but we keep going,” she said in Spanish. Her aunt migrated to Houston 14 years ago. She hopes to end up with her.

Migrants don’t seem to care that President Trump wants to block them from entering the country. Because they know many friends and family who have successfully crossed into the U.S. illegally or applied for asylum, they seem to think that things at the border will somehow work out for them, too.

We eat Mexican steak and eggs for breakfast with tortillas, beans and salsa. The meat is very thin, served with salt. They are out of avocado.

The townspeople are very nice, and very generous to the migrants. But they hope the caravan will move on quickly. Too many people to accommodate for more than a half a day in any small town.

There are many organizers and helpers for the caravan. Local government leaders and volunteers. Walter Cuello, the first caravan leader in Honduras. Pueblos Sin Fronteras. Various churches and non profits.

The migrants themselves don’t seem too concerned about who is trying to organize them. The overwhelming majority ignore press conference announcements. They just get up early and walk.

Follow Jacob Rascon on Facebook and Instagram.

SEE JACOB'S VIDEO REPORTS BELOW: