The migrants moved off the border bridge and toward the river after Mexican officials told them they would not be granted passage through the country. On the Mexican side, migrants ran from side to side along the river bank, kicking up dust and looking for an opening in the ranks of National Guard troops sent to meet them. Guardsmen scrambled too, trying to head off groups and detaining people where they could. There was pushing and shoving. Some guardsmen carried plastic riot shields hit with rocks tossed by migrants and they occasionally zipped a rock back into the crowd.
Others jogged to get into position with long staffs. Still others carried assault rifles. They assured those who went with them that they would "regularize" their status, but few of the migrants believed them. Sitting on a rock among dozens of people who didn't know what to do next, she offered only one word when asked if she would consider returning to San Pedro Sula: "Never.
By early afternoon, the stalemate resumed, the difference being that the migrants were now on the Mexican side of the river. Riot police with shields also appeared on the Guatemala side of river, raising questions about what options really remained for the migrants.
Occasionally a few migrants would try to run through a break in the ranks of Mexican guardsmen, but most rested, waiting to see what would happen next.
A year-old girl was carried from the riverbank unconscious. It was unclear what had happened but a guardsman said she had been convulsing. The migrants want free passage across Mexico to the U. While the government says the migrants are free to enter -- and could compete for jobs if they want to stay and work -- in practice, it has restricted such migrants to the southernmost states while their cases are processed by a sluggish bureaucracy.
