Hundreds of migrants are gearing up to leave Tapachula, Chiapas, this Thursday, joining a new caravan heading toward central Mexico. This city continues to be a point of concentration for thousands of Cubans who have been stuck for months due to prolonged immigration processes and challenges in finding legal employment and travel options.
Scheduled for August 20, the caravan is expected to initially gather between 500 and 600 individuals from various nationalities, as reported by Diario del Sur.
On Tuesday, those interested convened for their first face-to-face meeting at the Bicentennial Park to finalize departure plans after several weeks of organizing via social media and WhatsApp groups.
The departure is set for 5:00 PM, with organizers advising participants to arrive approximately two hours early for registration.
The initial destination is Mexico City, although not all participants intend to reach the United States; some plan to stay in other parts of Mexico.
Reasons Behind the Movement
Delays with the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (Comar), alongside the lack of employment and the high costs of food and rent, are among the primary reasons cited by those preparing for this movement.
Some migrants have claimed to have been waiting for resolutions to their paperwork for a year or even longer.
Nationality and Participation
Recent reports on the organization of this caravan have not yet specified the nationalities of those registered. However, the involvement of Cubans among the stranded migrants in Tapachula is well-documented, making their participation in this new movement likely, as seen in previous caravans.
Earlier this month, a Univision report estimated between 20,000 and 25,000 Cuban migrants in Tapachula. The same report noted that many foreigners remain for months, sometimes more than a year, awaiting responses to their applications with Comar.
Challenges and Government Response
Sources consulted by the network highlighted that Tapachula housed over 60% of refugee status applications in Mexico, with more than 80,000 requests piling up by 2026, straining response capabilities as new applications continue to flood in.
The significant Cuban presence had already been flagged months prior. In May, Tapachula's mayor, Yamil Melgar Bravo, reported that over 10,000 Cubans were stranded in the city, many facing lengthy processes to obtain asylum or regularize their immigration status.
Melgar previously warned that the slow pace of these processes led some migrants to abandon their applications and continue their journey without documentation via caravans, a strategy that exposes them to increased risks.
Throughout 2026, several caravans have already departed from Tapachula, driven by migrants seeking to leave Mexico's southern border due to the lack of job opportunities and the slow pace of regularization.
In March, a Cuban who had been trapped without documentation for over a year in Tapachula joined the "Genesis 2026" caravan, which was composed of around 500 migrants. He shared that he chose to leave after failing to regularize his situation or find employment opportunities.
Cuban presence was once again confirmed in June when the "De la Mano de Dios" caravan, consisting of over 200 migrants from Honduras, Guatemala, and other nations, departed from Tapachula. Diario del Sur specifically documented a group of five Cubans who had been deported from the United States and joined the journey.
Common Questions About Migrant Caravans from Tapachula
Why are migrants forming caravans in Tapachula?
Migrants are forming caravans in Tapachula due to delays in immigration processes, lack of employment opportunities, and the high costs of living in the area. The caravan offers a collective means of moving toward areas with more potential for regularization and employment.
What challenges do migrants face while stranded in Tapachula?
Migrants in Tapachula face prolonged waiting times for immigration resolutions, difficulty finding jobs, and high living expenses. These challenges are compounded by the city's overwhelming number of refugee applications, which hampers the ability to process new requests.