The migrant flood in Europe happened because Merkel loudly signaled that the border was open. Migrants from as far as Afghanistan began heading there. Obama's open borders signal was also received. There are more practical geographical limitations, but those who really want to are overcoming them.
Mexican immigration authorities say 424 migrants from African countries arrived at the southern state of Chiapas over two days last week.
The National Immigration Institute said Tuesday that it has issued them 20-day transit visas that will allow the migrants to reach the U.S.-Mexico border, where they plan to request asylum.
Officials call it an unusual surge and say most of the migrants first went to Brazil or Ecuador to start their journey through Latin America.
Most of the Africans presented themselves voluntarily to immigration officials in the Chiapas town of Tapachula. They did not specify their nationalities.
Immigration support staff in Tijuana has been aiding migrants from the Congo, Somalia and Ghana to arrive at the U.S. port of entry at San Isidro.
It takes time to develop the infrastructure for migration. There's a reliable smuggling network to the border. The network for migrants from outside the hemisphere is still developing, but once it's in place, the process will explode tremendously.
And another wild card is that if Europe does manage to slam the door, a lot of the smugglers and the traffic will shift to America.