A report from NBC News said a caravan of an estimated 7,500 people is heading toward the United States.
The migrants in the caravan are from 24 different countries, including Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, and Turkey.
Reports of the caravan come as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Chief Alejandro Mayorkas have met with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
According to a press release ahead of the meeting, the U.S. officials will “discuss unprecedented irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere and identify ways Mexico and the United States will address border security challenges, including actions to enable the reopening of key ports of entry across our shared border.”
“Secretary Blinken will reaffirm the United States’ commitment to the Los Angeles Declaration for Migration and Protection, and underscore the urgent need for lawful pathways and additional enforcement actions by partners throughout the region,” the statement read.
The New York Times reported that Obrador said the U.S. should support Latin America instead of developing “barriers, barbed wire fences on the river or thinking about building walls.”
Data from Customs and Border Patrol reveals that in fiscal year 2023, 172 individuals on the terror watchlist were encountered by U.S. Border Patrol agents.
Across the southern border, 169 individuals were encountered, whereas the northern border had 3 encounters with those on the terror watchlist.
Within CBP’s Office of Field Operations, 564 individuals on the terror watchlist were encountered.
Forty-nine individuals have already been encountered since the beginning of fiscal year 2024, according to the data.
