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On foot from Honduras to the US: Thousands of refugees have crossed the border into Guatemala, many without permission and without proof of corona. There they face arrest and deportation.
Several thousand people on their way from Honduras to the United States have crossed the border between Honduras and Guatemala. According to the Guatemalan immigration authority, around 3,000 people entered the country, most illegally and without proof of crown. Many of them also did not wear mouth and nose protection.
They had left in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula the night before. The group is the first to arrive in the US since the start of the corona pandemic.
“Migrants represent a health risk”
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei announced in a televised speech that night that the migrants would be arrested and deported. He spoke of a “massive group of Hondurans” breaking through the border. They pose a health risk, said Giammattei, who was diagnosed with Covid-19 two weeks ago, with a view to the coronavirus pandemic.
Guatemala, which sits between Honduras and Mexico, reopened its borders about two weeks ago after closing due to the crown in March.
Appeal of the United States and Mexico
Guatemala requires a negative test for the Sars-CoV-2 virus upon entry. The U.S. Embassy in Honduras wrote on Twitter that it was more dangerous than ever to enter the United States. Mexico’s Interior Ministry stressed that it would not allow “migrant caravans” to enter the country without the necessary documents. Additionally, based on agreements with Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, the United States can send migrants back there if they enter these countries on their way north but have not applied for asylum there.
First major refugee march of 2018
In recent years there have been several refugee marches from Honduras to the United States, the first in October 2018, when some 2,000 people moved north through Guatemala and Mexico. People only made it to the border city of Tijuana, in northern Mexico. The attempt to cross the US border failed.
Several similar actions followed in the following months. In response, US President Donald Trump sent 6,000 troops to the Mexican border and warned of an “invasion of criminals.” Several thousand Hondurans are currently waiting in Mexico for a response from the US authorities to their asylum application.
