See the Migrant Caravan Arriving in Mexico City After Weeks on the Road

After weeks of traveling through rain and scorching heat to Mexico City, Osmán Efraín is dumping buckets of water over his head. Children splash in puddles nearby, while other men and women gather around the plastic water tank. “I haven’t heard any news about President Trump,” Efraín, 18, tells TIME on Monday, his body glistening in the morning sunlight. Like some 5,000 other migrants who formed part of this main caravan, Efraín had no cell phone and little access to Internet during a journey that began in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula on Oct. 12. (Two other, smaller caravans have formed since and are following behind the first.)

It took the migrants more than three weeks to reach Mexico City, still hundreds of miles from their goal of the United States. According to the Associated Press, more than 2,000 Central American migrants had arrived at the Jesus Martinez stadium, a sports complex on the eastern side of the capital, by mid-afternoon Monday. Officials said the stadium has a capacity to hold 6,000.

Migrants dry freshly-washed clothes on the lawn of the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 5, 2018.

Migrants dry freshly-washed clothes on the lawn of the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 5, 2018.

Migrants dry freshly-washed clothes on the lawn of the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 5, 2018.
A young migrant from Central America takes a break to play soccer at the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 5, 2018.

A young migrant from Central America takes a break to play soccer at the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 5, 2018.

A young migrant from Central America takes a break to play soccer at the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 5, 2018.

Central Americans have long fled their home countries for the U.S. but the self-organized caravans have become more common as many hope to find safety by traveling openly together. There is also a tradition of migrants and refugees gathering together to make the journey through Mexico, with the human rights group Pueblo Sin Fronteras supporting them for the last decade to raise awareness about refugees from Central America. (It is legal for migrants to present themselves at ports of entry to seek asylum in the U.S. even if they lack papers.) In April, a group of some 240 migrants sought asylum at the U.S. port of entry in Tijuana as part of the annual tradition, but sparked more attention than usual after a series of tweets from President Donald Trump.

Ahead of the Nov. 6 midterms, President Donald Trump has railed against the migrant caravans, and announced Oct. 29 that more than 5,000 active duty troops would head to the U.S.-Mexico border, threatening that number could rise to 15,000. Trump and some allies have accused individuals like billionaire philanthropist George Soros of funding the caravan but there is no evidence to support this. While some religious and humanitarian groups have provided material aid and support to migrant caravans, reports suggest ordinary citizens in El Salvador, Honduras and elsewhere organize themselves in Facebook and WhatsApp groups.

A migrant wearing a donated coat talks to a priest who is volunteering at the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 5, 2018.

A migrant wearing a donated coat talks to a priest who is volunteering at the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 5, 2018.

A migrant wearing a donated coat talks to a priest who is volunteering at the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 5, 2018.

Among the migrants are many parents, children and unaccompanied minors, who say they are fleeing violence and poverty. They had hitchhiked from the port city of Veracruz in groups and continued to arrive throughout Sunday and Monday. Having covered nearly 1,000 miles since leaving San Pedro Sula, they planned to rest their blistered feet in Mexico City before tackling the remaining 660 miles to reach the U.S. border. Some in the caravan said they would be lucky to arrive at the border by Christmas.

Migrants find shelter in the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City, Mexico on Nov. 4, 2018.

Migrants find shelter in the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City, Mexico on Nov. 4, 2018.

Migrants find shelter in the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City, Mexico on Nov. 4, 2018.
A baby who has just arrived the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City sleeps as his parents sort through donated clothes nearby, on Nov. 4, 2018.

A baby who has just arrived the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City sleeps as his parents sort through donated clothes nearby, on Nov. 4, 2018.

A baby who has just arrived the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City sleeps as his parents sort through donated clothes nearby, on Nov. 4, 2018.

On Sunday evening, 25-year-old Martha from Colón, Honduras stood in front of the stadium, illuminated by the light of a cell phone as she spoke to her mother. She had managed to borrow one after arriving in the Mexican capital; it was the first time during the journey that she had been able to communicate with anyone from home. A single mother, she left her three children—aged 1, 3 and 5—in the care of her sister in Honduras. “I’m doing this for my children,” she explained, her hands on her hips. “They are what’s important.” She had been working since the age of 13 and now hoped to find a good job in the U.S., where she could send money home to her children.

Migrants from Honduras who just arrived at the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 4, 2018.

Migrants from Honduras who just arrived at the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 4, 2018.

Migrants from Honduras who just arrived at the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 4, 2018.
Donated clothes and shoes for migrants at the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 4, 2018.

Donated clothes and shoes for migrants at the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 4, 2018.

Donated clothes and shoes for migrants at the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 4, 2018.
Inside the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City, a volunteer dressed as a clown is handing out water to migrants, Nov. 4, 2018.

Inside the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City, a volunteer dressed as a clown is handing out water to migrants, Nov. 4, 2018.

Inside the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City, a volunteer dressed as a clown is handing out water to migrants, Nov. 4, 2018.

Outside the stadium, Darwin Gerardo Barrientos Aparicio sat on the sidewalk, sharing cigarettes with a group of fellow Hondurans. The 33-year-old from Tegucigalpa spoke about the three children and wife whom he had left behind in Honduras. Before leaving, he had been unemployed for a year and unable to provide food for his kids. He said he was lucky his wife had a minimum wage job that had kept them from starving. “I thank God for my wife because she wears the pants in the house,” he said.

Martha, 25, from Colón, Honduras stands outside the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 4, 2018.

Martha, 25, from Colón, Honduras stands outside the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 4, 2018.

Martha, 25, from Colón, Honduras stands outside the Jesus Martinez stadium, in Mexico City on Nov. 4, 2018.

As dusk fell that first night, after the first 500 weary migrants had arrived in Mexico City, Lorena Monserrat explained that during the journey, she had been thinking a lot about Anne Frank and how she had lived and fought tyranny with dignity. Monserrat, who wore a lavender beret that she had found among donated clothes, fled Honduras because as a trans woman, she had suffered physical and sexual violence. She was aware that President Trump had sent troops to the border and wondered if the troops would open fire on the migrant caravan. “If your president is going to listen to this, I would like to tell your president to get to know us, not to judge us. We aren’t criminals. We aren’t terrorists,” she said. “We don’t want to harm Americans. I just want to work. I want to work with dignity. That is it.”

Jerome Sessini is a Paris based photojournalist represented by Magnum Photos.

Alice Driver is a freelance reporter.