A 1,200-person caravan of largely Cuban migrants is heading north from Mexico’s southern city of Tapachula in a weeks-long pursuit of better economic opportunities. But the destination is not the U.S. border, it’s Mexico City. 

The destination of the caravan signals a stark shift in regional trends as President Donald Trump’s strict immigration policies take hold.  

The caravan, which departed earlier this month, is expected to take weeks to reach its destination, where migrants hope to find higher-paying jobs in Mexico’s capital city, rather than its impoverished south. 

Migrants on the outskirts of Tapachula, Mexico, Oct. 1, 2025. (Reuters/Damian Sanchez)

“Why would I want to go to the United States? They hate us there,” one Cuban woman traveling with her 2-year-old daughter and 18-year-old son told the news outlet. 

While immigration to the U.S. under Trump, particularly amid his second term, has drastically dropped, the decision by Cuban migrants not to pursue life in the U.S. where there are already large communities with deep U.S. ties in places like Florida and New York, is significant. 

But it is too soon to tell if this will be a lasting trend, Elaine Dezenski, senior director and head of the Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP) at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told Fox News Digital. 

“According to the International Organization for Migration, about 50% of migrants surveyed across Mexico in mid-2025 said they considered Mexico their destination – up from less than 25% at the end of 2024,” she said. “This suggests that increased U.S. border enforcement and deportations are influencing migrants’ choices, with more seeking asylum and work authorization in Mexico instead of continuing to the U.S.”

Honduran migrants taking part in a caravan heading to the U.S. rest in Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico, on Oct. 21, 2018. (Johan Ordonez/AFP via Getty Images)

In the months since Trump returned to the top job, encounters on the southern border reported by Customs and Border Protection have drastically fallen compared to rates seen in years past. 

Earlier this year, the Migration Policy Institute noted that monthly southern border encounters were on par with rates not seen since the 1960s. 

Dezenski warned that even though the control of undocumented migration into the U.S. will be championed by some as a positive adjustment when it comes to border security, there are “serious conversations” that need to be had about the role immigration plays in maintaining a healthy economy.  

“Both Mexico and the U.S. are experiencing labor shortages in key sectors. While uncontrolled, undocumented immigration is not a solution, the lack of comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S. risks leaving many jobs unfilled – particularly in industries that rely heavily on migrant labor, such as agriculture,” she said. “Today, immigration reform is often equated with border security. 

“However, we also need a serious conversation about the essential skills and labor our economies require and the role immigration plays in sustaining long-term economic health,” Dezenski said.