Thousands of migrants from the Central American caravan made their way toward Mexico City Monday.
Officials prepared to accommodate the mass amounts of travelers by opening up a sports stadium, offering them shelter for the night.
The first wave of migrants spent Sunday night at the Jesus Martinez stadium, where they were served hot meals. Nashieli Ramirez, ombudsman for the city's human rights commission, said the migrants would be able to stay at the stadium as long as necessary.
"We have the space in terms of humanitarian help," Ramirez said.
On the highway, migrants were seen grouping in front of tractor trailers, forcing the big rigs to stop so that fellow migrants could climb aboard.
Many of the migrants are hoping to regroup in Mexico's capital to get medical care and wait for stragglers on their way to the U.S. border.
Mexico's Interior Ministry estimated that there are more than 5,000 migrants in total currently moving through southern Mexico via the caravans or in smaller groups.
More than 7,000 active duty troops have been deployed to Texas, Arizona, and California with many heading to the Mexican border in response to the caravans.
Read more at the Fairfield Citizen.
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