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by Ildefonso Ortiz and Brandon Darby3 Apr 2018506
The Mexican government revealed that the caravan of more than 1,500 families from Central America making their way north is part of an annual event occurring over the past seven years without prior interference. Mexico City asserts it is not promoting the irregular migration and is considering how to detain some while granting asylum to others who qualify.

The revelation was made in a recent statement issued by Mexico’s Foreign Relations Ministry where it addressed the issue of jointly dealing with immigration and also discussed the caravan, which has drawn attention from the U.S. government. Mexican officials revealed that the caravan is a public event which tries to bring attention to Central American migrants who are forced to flee their homes to seek refuge at other points north. The caravan has been a yearly event since 2010 and since the migrants entered the country in an irregular fashion, they are subject to Mexican immigration enforcement. The statement makes no mention of any enforcement actions in the previous years and revealed that this year they are offering asylum to those who qualify.

In a recent fact-checking story by the Associated Press, the news organization tried to blast the Trump Administration for the President’s comments regarding Mexico’s lax border security efforts in allowing the caravan to make their way across Mexico. The AP claimed that the migrant caravan was not headed for the U.S.-Mexico Border but to Mexico City for a rally. The AP did acknowledge that many could break from the caravan toward the U.S. The news organization’s claim runs counter to the reporting of every other major outlet including reporting by Spain’s El Diario, Univision, Latin America’s La Prensa Grafica, Telesur TV, Mexico’s El Universal, all reporting that the ultimate goal of the members of the caravan was to reach the U.S. and request asylum or other protected status. The basis for the AP’s fact check appears to come from the news release issued at the start of the caravan by the organization Pueblo Sin Fronteras (People Without Borders) where they claimed to be initially traveling to Mexico City for a series of rallies and workshops from April 5-9, however in their statement, after the rally, they asked for the help from human rights groups and the community in general in providing supplies.