Caravan of migrants advances towards southern border as US officials plan to visit Mexico

Thousands of migrants and asylum seekers made advancements to the U.S. southern border, moving across the southern Mexican state of Chiapas on Tuesday.

Some migrants in the caravan could be seen carrying a sign that reads, "Exodus from poverty."

This comes one day before Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas are expected to go to Mexico to discuss immigration with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

According to a statement from State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, the officials will discuss "unprecedented irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere and identify ways Mexico and the United States will address border security challenges."

The meeting has been criticized by migrants' activists, according to Reuters. 

"They want women and children to be bargaining chips," activist Luis García Villagrán said, according to the outlet. "We are not bargaining chips for any politicians."

Data shows that Border Patrol agents arrested roughly three million people who attempted to enter the U.S. unlawfully through either Canada or Mexico in fiscal year 2023, which ended in September.