Guatemalan security forces used tear gas and sticks to stop a migrant caravan from entering the United States.
Around 8,000 migrants, including families with their young children, have entered Guatemala and were told to stop their journey as “things at the border won’t change overnight.”
This comes less than a week before President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Wednesday.
In an interview with NBC, a senior source said: “The situation at the border isn’t going to be transformed overnight. (They) need to understand they’re not going to be able to come into the United States immediately.
“There’s help on the way, but now is not the time to make the journey.”
The unnamed official did not say anything as to when asylum seekers would be able to enter the United States but said that people already waiting at the border will be the priority.
The source continued: “We have to provide a message that health and hope is on the way, but coming right now does not make sense for their own safety… while we put into place processes that they may be able to access in the future.”
Another Biden official said: “Overcoming the challenges created by the chaotic and cruel policies of the last four years, and those presented by COVID-19, will take time.
“In the meantime, the journey to the United States remains extraordinarily dangerous, and those in the region should not believe anyone peddling the lie that our border will be open to everyone next month.”
Videos show thousands of migrants clashing with Guatemalan security officials.
Joaquin Ortiz, a Honduran in the caravan, said: “We want the Guatemalans to let us pass. Because we’re not leaving here. We’re going to carry on. I want to get through because it’s horrible in our country. There’s nothing in Honduras.”
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