Mexican Interior Ministry Says 5,600 Migrants Currently Staying At Mexican-US Border

MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st November, 2018) The Mexican Interior Ministry said in a communique on Tuesday that the number of migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, currently staying in the vicinity of the Mexican cities of� Tijuana and Mexicali, located at the US border, amounted to 5,600 people.

According to the ministry, 20.8 tonnes of humanitarian assistance, including food, blankets, mattresses and hygiene items, have already been provided to the migrants, while water purification systems have also been installed.

The ministry specified that around 2,600 migrants were�staying near Tijuana, while around 3,000 migrants were staying near Mexicali. They have arrived in the country in a migrant caravan, aspiring to cross into the United States.

The caravan set out from Honduras in the direction of Mexico and the United States on October 13. The United Nations estimated that the caravan included more than 7,000 migrants, while the Mexican authorities claimed that the caravan marching through its territory included around 3,600 migrants.

On Monday, US immigration officials suspended all northbound traffic on the US-Mexico border crossing in California to install additional security barriers to prepare for numerous migrants arriving at the border.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mexican Ambassador to the United States Geronimo Gutierrez told Sputnik that Mexico was working on providing job opportunities to people from the migrant caravan.