Encouraged by the staggering largesse being mulled by the U.S. government ($450K per person), the massive caravan coming up through Mexico continues en route.
Though the millionaire’s payout that the government is considering officially applies only to families separated last year during the previous administration, migrants understand that it signals an overwhelming generosity on the part of the current administration, generosity they are determined to take advantage of.
So, on they come, perhaps five thousand–estimates are hard to come by–many of them accompanied by one or more priceless minor children, each a guaranteed ticket to life in America and, just maybe, undreamt-of riches.
According to Reuters, the caravan yesterday had reached the Mexican town of Mapastepec, about 60 miles north of Tapachula on the Guatemalan border. Authorities reported that at least half were sick, many with respiratory infections. Coronavirus could not be ruled out, though they were not being tested for it. What was confirmed was the presence of dengue fever, a tropical disease spread by mosquitoes, virtually unknown in the U.S. but endemic to the migrants’ homelands.
Although sick and offered humanitarian visas to remain in Mexico, most have rejected them, keeping their eye on the top prize farther north.
For more, see Reuters.