We want work, says migrant in Mexico heading to the US 2:11
(CNN) --
A group of about 2,300 people left the southern Mexican city of Tapachula for the United States on Monday, according to an official with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The official told CNN that the group is made up primarily of Venezuelans, but also includes migrants from Nicaragua, Cuba, El Salvador and Honduras.
"Mother caravan" of migrants will leave this Saturday for Mexico City
A regional immigration group, Colectivo de Observación y Monitoreo de Derechos Humanos en SE México, said in a bulletin that the group mainly included families and children "who demand access to immigration procedures and dignified treatment by the authorities."
Tapachula, located across the border from Guatemala, is a popular way station for migrants traveling from Central America.
Under Mexican immigration law, migrants and asylum seekers are often forced to wait in the area for several months with limited job opportunities.
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Mexican authorities block the passage of immigrants to the US 2:14
This caravan was partially assembled in protest of immigration policies and it would be weeks before they reached the southern US border, assuming they all make it.
Caravans often decrease in size as they move north.
Migrant caravans have left Tapachula regularly over the past year, though this week's appears to be one of the largest.
migrant caravan