MEXICO CITY - Mexico’s capitol is dedicating its main celebrations for Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, to fallen migrants. Meanwhile, the Mexican government is struggling to help and regulate other migrants, including those from a Central American caravan.
The Día de Muertos parade and the altar exhibit at Zócalo square in Mexico City honor deceased migrants from the past and present.
Mexico City brands itself as a “sanctuary city” through the festivities, but the administration of president Enrique Peña Nieto is struggling to control the Central American caravan.
“Dear migrants: Mexico wants to help and protect you, but the only way to do so is by registering your entry and abiding our laws,” said president Peña Nieto in a message to the caravan.
The Mexican government’s program is called “Estás en tu casa” (You Are At Home), and offers migrants medical services, school and job opportunities.
However, only a few hundred from the thousands in the caravan have registered. A few hundred have also accepted volunteer deportation, and nearly a dozen people have been arrested and deported for having criminal backgrounds.
At the beginning of this week, violent confrontations between members of the caravan and the Mexican authorities were registered at the Guatemala border, as some members of the caravan threw objects to the Mexican side while trying to knock down the border fence.
