New Caravan of Asylum Seekers Heading for U.S. Border Swells to 9,000

Thousands of migrants from Honduras headed to the U.S.-Mexico border have entered Guatemala, setting up what could be the first real challenge of the Biden presidency, according to The New York Times. Officials estimate that the caravan now has between 7,000 and 9,000 people who are not being tested for COVID-19 along the way. President-elect Joe Biden has pledge to ease some of the tough immigration restrictions set by the Trump administration, but he has not officially commented on the current caravan. The Associated Press reported that the Guatemalan government has tried to turn some migrants back, but many have breached checkpoints. In a statement, the Guatemalan government said it “regrets this violation of national sovereignty and calls on Central American governments to take actions to avoid putting their inhabitants, as well as the communities through which these people pass, at risk in the face of the pandemic.”