A caravan of over 500 migrants seeking to cross into the U.S. dissolved before reaching the border, Guatemalan officials said Monday.
The caravan originated in Honduras but dissolved shortly after crossing the border into Guatemala on Sunday, the Guatemalan Migration Institute says. Guatemalan authorities stopped the caravan a few miles after it entered the country and returned those without proper documentation to Honduras.
Those who had documentation were allowed to continue on, though Guatemala did not offer details on how many of the migrants had such documentation.
Several similar caravans have crossed into the U.S. illegally in recent months.
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The failed Honduran caravan comes roughly a month after a caravan of roughly 8,000 people made its way through Mexico toward the U.S. in late December.
President Biden's administration has sought to downplay record-high levels of illegal immigration seen in the late months of 2023. As many as 10,000 migrants were arrested daily at the southwest U.S. border in December, but the White House sought to pass it off as a seasonal surge.
There were 242,418 migrant encounters at the southern border in November — the highest November on record and the third-highest month ever.
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When asked about the November figure, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the increases in numbers are "not unusual."
"What we’re seeing here at the border, the increased migration flow, certainly, it ebbs and flows," Jean-Pierre said. "And we’re at a time of the year where we’re seeing more at the border. And it’s not unusual. This is an immigration system that has been broken for decades. And the president has taken this very seriously to try to do more. That’s why we have the comprehensive immigration policy legislation that the president put forth on day one."
In the past, Mexico has let migrants go through their southern border, trusting that they would tire themselves out walking along the highway.
This has historically been the case as, according to The Associated Press, no migrant caravan has walked the entire 1,000 miles to the U.S. border. However, in recent years, migrants have secured access via buses, trains and other transportation to get them to the border.
Fox News' Lawrence Richard and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
