Mexican City Bars Caravan of 2,000 Migrants From Entering, Citing Safety Threat

Central American migrants heading in a caravan to the U.S. arrive in Huehuetan, Chiapas state, Mexico, on April 15, 2019. (Credit: PEP COMPANYS/AFP/Getty Images)

by: Associated Press

Posted: Apr 16, 2019 / 10:07 AM PDT

Updated: Apr 16, 2019 / 10:07 AM PDT

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Municipal authorities in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas have tried to block a caravan of about 2,000 Central American migrants from entering the town of Huixtla.

The Huixtla government declared an emergency Monday night and told stores to close when the migrants streamed in anyway.

Members of the caravan pushed past police and headed for the town center, although authorities wanted them to stay at an improvised shelter farther away.

The municipality said in a taped statement that “the majority of the people coming are not coming peacefully, as we might have hoped.”

Officials also told people to stay indoors, warning the migrants were a threat to safety.

The town’s cold reception contrasts with the warm welcome it gave to caravans just last year.