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10A Thursday, November 1,2018 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com WORLD Weary migrant caravan rests in south Mexico RODRIGO ABD I Associated Press Central American migrants watch a movie set up at their makeshift camp where a caravan of thousands of migrants are sleeping in Juchitan, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 30. REBECCA BLACKWELL I Associated Press A migrant pushes a child in a stroller on the highway as a thousands-strong caravan of Central Americans continues its journey toward the U.S. border, between Niltepec and Juchitan, Oaxaca state, Mexico, Tuesday, Oct. 30. JUCHITAN, Mexico - Thou sands of weary Central American migrants in a caravan that has advanced 250 miles into Mexico but remains far from the U.S. bor der hope they won’t have to walk anymore, at least for a while. Representatives of the group sought Wednesday to negotiate use of dozens of buses to carry the migrants hundreds of miles ahead, as the caravan took at least a day off from the grind of walking and hitching rides in packed trucks from small town to small town. But as of the afternoon, there was no outward sign they’d had success in finding buses to carry them. After bedding down at a city- owned property on the outskirts of the southern city of Juchitan, the migrants wandered around looking for something to eat as classic songs by Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez, known as “the king of ranchera music,” played in the background. Loudspeaker announcements discussed bath room use and a prohibition on charging money to power their cellphones. Red Cross personnel bandaged the swollen feet of Honduran farmer Omar Lopez, who had been pounding the hot asphalt of highways every day for the last two weeks after spending nights on concrete sidewalks with just a thin sheet of plastic for cover. “We are waiting to see if they are going to help us out with buses, to continue the trip,” said Lopez, 27. Organizers say the buses, if they do materialize, would take the esti mated 4,000 migrants to Mexico City for meetings with legislators, not to the still-distant U.S. border, though some would probably con tinue to the border after reaching the capital. That might not play well with U.S. officials: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday specifically praised Mexico for stopping the migrants from getting rides. “Mexico has stepped up in an unprecedented way,” Sanders told Fox News. “They have helped stop a lot of the transportation means of these indi viduals in these caravans, forcing them walking. They have helped us in new ways to slow this down, to break this up and keep it from moving as aggressively toward the United States.” The Mexican government, has, in fact, taken a fairly contradictory stance on helping or hindering the first caravan, reflecting the coun try’s balancing act: Officials don’t want to irk Trump, but Mexicans themselves have long suffered mis treatment as migrants. For the first week of the cara van, Mexican federal police some times enforced obscure safety rules, forcing migrants off paid mini-buses, citing insurance regu lations. They also stopped over loaded pickup trucks carrying migrants and forced them to get off. But in recent days, officials from Mexico’s immigrant-protec tion agency have organized rides for women and children on the car avan as a humanitarian effort.And police have stood by as migrants piled aboard freight trucks. But the first caravan — which ‘I didn’t want to go, but I’m unemployed and I have to get money to buy food for my son. There is no work here, and the violence never stops.’ Jose Santos planned to take a day of rest Wednesday in Juchitan, about 900 miles from the nearest U.S. border crossing — is only the start. A second, smaller group of 1,000 or so migrants who forced their way into Mexico on Monday was trailing some 250 miles back. They spent Tuesday night in Tapachula. Behind them, a third group of migrants from El Salvador had already made it to Guatemala, and on Wednesday a fourth group of about 700 Salvadorans set out from the capital, San Salvador, with plans to walk to the U.S. border, 1,500 miles away. Salvadoran man Jose Santos, 27, brought his baby son with him on the quixotic quest. “I didn’t want to go, but I’m unemployed and I have to get money to buy food for my son,” Santos said. “There is no work here, and the violence never stops.” The caravans combined repre sent just a few days’ worth of the average flow of migrants to the United States in recent years. Simi lar caravans have occurred regu larly over the years and passed largely unnoticed, but U.S. Presi dent Donald Trump has seized on them to try to make border secu rity a hot-button issue less than a week before midterm elections. The Pentagon has announced it will deploy 5,200 troops to the Southwest border, though federal law restricts the military from engaging in law enforcement on U.S. soil. So their role would largely be limited to activities such as pro viding helicopter support for bor der missions, installing concrete barriers and vehicle maintenance, rather than detaining migrants. Trump said Wednesday that the number could go as high as 15,000. He also tweeted: “We will NOT let these Caravans, which are also made up of some very bad thugs and gang members, into the U.S. Our Border is sacred, must come in legally. TURN AROUND!” Worn down from long miles of walking and frustrated by the slow progress, many migrants have done just that, dropping out and returning home or applying for protected status in Mexico. The initial group is significantly diminished from its estimated peak at more than 7,000 migrants. A caravan in the spring ultimately fizzled to just about 200 people who reached the U.S. border at San Diego. Mexican Interior Secretary Alfonso Navarrete Prida said about 2,300 have applied to stay in Mexico under a government plan, and hundreds more have accepted assisted repatriation. In Juchitan, Omar Lopez, the Honduran farmer, said playing soccer back home had given him stamina but the “exaggerated” walk has taken its toll. “The sacrifice is worth the effort,” Lopez said. “I promised to buy my son a real motorcycle and I’m going to make good. I promised him many other things ... not only things, I also want to give them education. Everything good costs money.” iday Shopping! PREVIEW PARTY TONIGHT! NOVEMBER 1 Gainesville Civic Center benefiting Safe Kids Gainesville/Hall County Presented by Premier Sponsors: The Medical Center Auxiliary & Willis investment counsel Principled Investing PREVIEW PARTY TONIGHT! 6:30 - 9:30 P.M. ($50 Tickets) General Admission (Tickets $5): Nov. 2, 9:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. • Nov. 3, 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Shop more than 80 merchants from six states to benefit a worthwhile cause. 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