Christmas Day was no different from any other day to thousands of migrants who were walking through southern Mexico. It meant more trudging in the hot sun.

The Catholic Church in Alvaro Obregon in the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico, bordering Guatemala, gave out a banana, a water bottle, and a sandwich to migrants living in this town.

Migrants slept on the ground or under an awning, on cardboard or plastic.

The morning started with the usual 4 a.m. wake-up to avoid the worst heat and walk to Huixtla which is 20 miles away (30 km).

Karla Ramirez from Honduras, who was traveling along with four other adults and four kids, arrived at Alvaro Obregon on Sunday too late to receive any of the free food that the church offered. They had to purchase what they could afford.

Ramirez said, “It was sad. We have never been on the street before.” “Our Christmas Dinner was some Mortadella with butter, tomato and tortilla.

Mariela Amaya’s son, aged seven, didn’t know why they were forced to spend Christmas in this manner. Amaya from Honduras tugged on the hand of her tired and recalcitrant seven-year-old son as they walked.

Amaya stated, “They don’t get why we need to do it to have a better quality of life.” She said that neither did the governments in Mexico or the United States.

Why can’t they assist us? “We need their help,” said she.

Local families were the only ones who offered any assistance. One family gave away tamales, a traditional seasonal dish, and water to passing migrants.

There were single adults and entire families among the migrants, who were all anxious to reach the U.S. Border, but angry and frustrated that they had to wait for weeks or even months in Tapachula, a nearby city, to obtain documents which would allow them to continue on their journey.

Mexico says it does not issue transit visas but migrants continue to hope to receive some sort of document to at least be able to take buses to border.

This journey has been very difficult for us migrants. “We need the Mexican immigration office and government to show some pity and give us a Safe Conduct Pass,” said Jessica Garcia a Venezuelan migrant.

Mexico has reported that it detected 680,000 migrants crossing the border in the first eleven months of 2023.

Around 6,000 migrants made up the migrant group that left Tapachula on Sunday, which was the largest since June 2022.

The 2022 caravan, which began as U.S. president Joe Biden welcomed leaders to Los Angeles for the Summit of the Americas, was a similar event. This year’s caravan took place just a few weeks before U.S. officials met with their Mexican counterparts to discuss ways to reduce the number of migrants arriving at the U.S. Southwest border.

The Mexican government already stated that it was willing to try and block migrants from entering Mexico. It had no choice after U.S. officials temporarily closed two crucial Texas railway border crossings claiming that they were overloaded with migrants.

This slowed down the flow of freight from Mexico into the United States as well as grain required to feed Mexican livestock traveling south. Rail crossings were reopened in the past, but it was a clear message.

U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken will arrive in Mexico City on Wednesday to negotiate new agreements for controlling the surge of migrants trying to enter the United States. In addition to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the U.S. delegation will include White House Homeland Security adviser Liz Sherwood Randall.

The U.S. Southwest border has arrested 10,000 migrants per day in the last month.

Mexico has agreed to accept migrants from Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba, who were turned away by the U.S. because they did not follow rules which provided new legal paths to asylum and other forms migration.

This deal, which was intended to curb a post-pandemic surge in migration, seems insufficient, as the numbers are rising once again. It disrupts bilateral trade, and fuels anti-migrant sentiments among conservative voters in America.

In the last two fiscal years of the U.S. Government, arrests for illegal border crossings surpassed 2 million. This is due to technological advances that have enabled migrants to flee their homes to escape poverty and natural disasters.