Mexico opens border to women and children from migrant caravan

Luis Manuel Lopez told AFP the women and children would be processed by immigration authorities and taken to a shelter in the city of Tapachula, 40 kilometers (25 miles) away.

The women ran forward when immigration officers unchained a gate that had been pinning back migrants at the crossing.

"I'm happy, happy! At last!" shouted a relieved Gina Paola Montes, 21, as she ran onto Mexican territory.

One of the women fainted, alarming her relatives.

Eva Hernandez, 42, a Honduran activist, says the group had been promised they will receive refugee permits and a safe place to stay.

"We better find that shelter today," she said.

The women and children are part of a group of thousands of Honduran migrants on the Mexican border with Guatemala hoping to reach the United States.