Asking for more humane conditions in the overflowing Benito Juarez shelter and trying to present themselves to United States immigration authorities for asylum, the group carried white flags as they marched from the migrant camp to the foot of the U.S. pedestrian bridge, a distance of about five city blocks.

The migrants have been camped out in muddy and cramped conditions at an open-air sports arena turned into a makeshift shelter. They said they awoke Thanksgiving Day hungry, as rain worsened the already unsanitary conditions in the packed shelter.

“There are sick children here, and we are cold and hungry,” said Carlos Lopez, a Honduran who was leading the group. Lopez added it was inappropriate to shelter the women and children outside. “The whole world is watching what is happening here.”