3,000 migrants travel in caravans to US border

About 3,000 people carrying bags, water and small children trod through intense heat along a highway in southern Mexico on Tuesday, travelling in two groups aiming to reach the US border.

Over the past week, migrants have launched two caravans - large groups of people walking together - bound for the United States.

In the past such caravans have stirred intense debate in the United States, where immigration is likely to be a key topic ahead of the November 5 presidential election.

In recent years, caravans have been a means for tens of thousands of migrants to cross Mexico, often as a safety measure amid reports that robberies, rapes and kidnappings of migrants are common.

The caravans are often a lifeline for those who cannot afford to pay a smuggler or human trafficker for a "safer" journey.

The Security Ministry in Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, bordering Guatemala, told Reuters there were between 2,500 and 3,000 people in the caravan and most were Venezuelans.

Another local government source said there had been a significant increase in the number of children in recent caravans.

In June, when the Biden administration early in the month implemented a policy prohibiting migrants caught crossing the US-Mexico border illegally from applying for asylum, the daily average of arrests ranged between 2,500 and 3,000 migrants per day for a week, a huge decline from prior months.

But thousands of migrants continue to take a shot at seeking asylum in the United States with the hope of leaving behind insecurity, poverty and other problems in their home countries.