FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2018 file photo, Central American migrants making their way toward the U.S. rest in a public park in Huixtla, Mexico. On Monday, April 15, 2019, municipal authorities in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas tried to block a caravan of about 2,000 Central American migrants from entering Huixtla, but members of the caravan pushed past police and headed for the town center. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo, File)
Republished April 16, 2019 - 2:46 PM
Original Publication Date April 16, 2019 - 10:06 AM
MEXICO CITY - Municipal authorities in Mexico's southern state of Chiapas 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 centre, although officials 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 townspeople to stay indoors, warning that the migrants were a threat to safety.
The town's cold reception contrasts with the warm welcome it gave to caravans just last year.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019