A caravan of Central American immigrants started walking north into Mexico early Sunday, blowing past police and immigration officials as they continued their journey toward the U.S. border.
A group of several thousand immigrants set out before dawn on the only road out of the small Mexican border town of Ciudad Hidalgo. They were headed for the city of Tapachula, about 18 miles away.
It was unclear whether the police planned to stop the group. At one point, a large contingent of federal police officers blocked the road before retreating. At another point, a small group of police watched as members of the caravan passed, some of them running and skipping.
When a small group of immigration officials tried to stop the caravan to convince its members to apply for political asylum, the caravan swept past them too.