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The actions by security forces in Guatemala to block hundreds of people, mostly from neighboring Honduras and who were heading to the U.S., have highlighted the tricky test that President-elect Joe Biden faces on immigration policy.
On Monday, armed officers used riot shields and teargas to stop migrants near the village of Vado Hondo, around 30 miles from the borders of Honduras and El Salvador. The migrants, many with children, boarded buses that took them back to the El Florido border crossing.
The authorities have been accused of brutality, with Andres Gomez, a Guatemalan in the caravan, telling Reuters: "This isn't a war. It's a caravan with women and children... there are women who've been beaten, it's an act of violence."
The migrants are fleeing poverty in Guatemala, which is reeling from the blows of the coronavirus pandemic and two hurricanes. They are part of an annual movement of Central Americans trying to reach the U.S. in groups known as "caravans."
Honduran border police said its security officials had tried to stop the caravan at the Guatemalan border, but migrants had pushed through the barrier.
Reuters said that up to 8,000 migrants have entered Guatemala since Friday, spurring Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to call on Biden to make major reforms to U.S. immigration policy.
"In Joe Biden's campaign, he offered to finalize immigration reform and I hope that he is able to achieve this. That is what I hope," Obrador said.
Obrador said his government would try to talk migrants out of crossing into Mexico but that their rights must be respected all the same.
Biden has promised a different immigration approach to the hardline policies of President Donald Trump, who focused on building a border wall and restricting eligibility for asylum.
On his first day in office on Wednesday, Biden will send to Congress an immigration reform bill that includes an eight-year pathway to citizenship.
Biden's plan would give five years temporary status to those living in the U.S. who did not have legal status as of January 1, 2021. They would then get the chance to earn a green card as long as they met requirements, such as paying taxes.
They would also have to pass a background check and three years later they could apply for citizenship.
About the writer
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more