Migrant caravan of 1,000 arrives in Mexico

A caravan of more than 1,000 Central American migrants arrived in southern Mexico, hoping eventually to reach the United States after President Donald Trump's Republican Party suffered a major midterm election defeat.

The group arrived Sunday evening in Tapachula, west of Mexico's border with Guatemala. Some carried Honduran flags and placards reading “Central American caravan,” while others had Guatemalan flags tied around their necks.

Misael Vazquez, a 25-year-old Honduran, told AFP that the Democratic victory in last week's midterm elections gave him hope. Pablo Garcia, a 23-year-old construction worker in the caravan, said Trump was the only person who opposed migrants.

Trump and Republicans in Congress have taken a hard line against migrants, blocking them from crossing the southern US border and deporting tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

The Republican Party lost its majority in Congress in last week's elections and also suffered major losses in Texas. Democrats are due to take control of Congress in January and are perceived as more lenient toward immigrants.

This is the third migrant caravan from Central America since September. Recent similar caravans were broken up by Mexican authorities in Chiapas, who issued migrants temporary residence documents before they reached far into Mexico.