Among the thousands of migrants heading for the United States border this year, the number of Ecuadorians detained or deported by US border security reached 97,074 in September. That’s more than seven times the number of Ecuadorian migrants encountered by US border officials at the same time last year. William Murillo, an immigration attorney and co-founder of the Ecuadorian legal service 1800 Migrante, said there are multiple factors driving this new caravan, but points to one element in particular. “The economic effects of COVID-19,” Murillo told The Epoch Times via What’s App. As many as 150 million people fell into extreme poverty in 2021 due to economic blowback from the pandemic, with eight out of 10 “new poor” coming from middle income countries, according to a World Bank estimate. Ecuador lost $6.42 billion last year between March and May due to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, based on a disaster-needs assessment released by the United …