Mexican Businessmen Want National Guard to Continue to Stop Caravans

By Jason Peña on March 20, 2020

The recent spate of Central American migrant caravans has prompted public safety concerns from the business sector of the southern Mexican border state of Chiapas.

Jose Elmer Aquiahuatl Herrera, president of the Established Trades and Property Owners of Tapachula, expressed his support for retaining the Mexican National Guard at the Mexico-Guatemala border to suppress illegal immigration.

"Sometimes we consider it has been exaggerated,"Aquiahuatl Herrera said of the discussion about migrants seeking to enter Mexico,"but given the number of migrant facilities, they can enter in a legal and orderly manner, which they have not wanted to do."

The Mexcican business leader also said the Mexican government must stop foreign nationals who choose not to enter Mexico through the proper migrant procedures.

According to Aquiahuatl Herrera, the rate of violent crime from migrants has decreased due to the National Guard's presence and action of deterring offenses. He said that, while instances of illegal migrant entries and crime still happen in Chiapas, their likelihood has declined compared to less-policed jurisdictions.