Around 1,000 Central American migrants marched freely through the Guatemala-Mexico border on Friday after the gates were left wide open, with Mexican authorities standing down from confronting the caravan.
The border gates were open only temporarily, but migrants – who crossed the bridge from Tecun-Uman to Ciudad Hidalgo – were surprised to find no locks on the gates, effectively giving them a free pass to enter the country without being stuck at the border or registering with immigration officials and now begin the trek to the U.S. border, which can range from between 1,000 to 2,500 miles depending on the point of entry.
There was little presence of police or border security officials. A Mexican official told Fox News that they “did not want to confront” the migrant caravan, fearing the repetition of last year’s incident where violent clashes between police and the migrants broke out.
It remains unclear if the border gates were left open intentionally by the authorities or if migrants broke the locks.