Washington, D.C. (January 11, 2021) – Another caravan plans to leave from Honduras on January 15 with hopes of reaching the U.S. border by Joe Biden’s January 20 th inauguration. Caravan formations – and dispersals – have increased as the coming Biden administration promises to undo Trump's deterrence-focused illegal immigration policies and to immediately propose an immigration reform bill to the new Democratic congress that likely would provide amnesty for millions of illegally present immigrants.
Todd Bensman, the Center's senior national security fellow, said, "It seems unlikely that the newly forming caravan will be able to get past Guatemalan and Mexican pandemic-related border closures. But this will not be the last caravan to form. Organizers and participants have shown consistent resolve and determination over time. They keep forming and coming even after forceful breakups and removals."
Reuters reports that the caravan is being organized on social media, including one Facebook group that boasts more than 5,500 members who exchange tips and advice on how to reach "paradise" in their journeys north.
View the full blog at: https://cis.org/Bensman/Yet-Another-Caravan-Forming-Test-American-Border-Resolve
Bensman noted, "When the first caravan finally succeeds in crossing the American border, many more will no doubt follow through the breach and quickly lead to another mass surge, overwhelming authorities, detention facilities, and normal asylum system processes, and ultimately leading to a humanitarian crisis."
Many media outlets are attributing migrants' plans to head to the U.S. border on recent hurricanes in Central America. But that ignores the many aspiring border-crossers who have explicitly been citing Biden's campaign promises as the rationale for the timing of their journey. Explanations based on weather events also ignore the thousands of "extra-continentals" who are coming from further south and from around the world, where those hurricanes did not strike. |
