A second caravan of Central American migrants has formed, crossing the border from Honduras into Guatemala on Sunday and on to the town of Chiquimula on Monday night, according to Fox News.
The group is following the first caravan which has been estimated at over 7,000 people by the UN, while Mexican newspaper El Universal says it has swelled to around 14,000.
Both caravans have are currently headed north and have been met with minimal resistance from government authorities.
Footage captured by a Fox News crew traveling with the caravan showed trucks handing out food, water and toilet paper to the migrants.
“My dream is get to the border if we could. If we can’t we are going to have to cross the river some way, some how,” a Honduran migrant who identified himself as Edwin told Fox News. As he spoke, a truck with people hanging onto the doors and sides passed behind him.
Another of the lead caravan’s members who had previously lived in the U.S., 36-year-old Job Reyes told the Washington Post he’s going back because America is “a country where I can live my life, unlike Guatemala.”
Reyes said he grew up in Los Angeles and returned to Guatemala 14 years ago after his visa expired. But now, with the caravan hoping to get across the U.S. border – a move President Trump has threatened to block with the military – Reyes saw an opportunity. –Fox News
“When I heard about the caravan, I knew it was my chance,” Reyes told Fox.
President Trump, meanwhile, is preparing to deploy the US military to stop the caravan – claiming in a series of Monday tweets that he has “alerted Border Patrol and Military that this is a National Emergy [sic]”
Sadly, it looks like Mexico’s Police and Military are unable to stop the Caravan heading to the Southern Border of the United States. Criminals and unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in. I have alerted Border Patrol and Military that this is a National Emergy. Must change laws!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2018
On Monday night, Trump suggested that the Democrats had “something to do with” the caravan – while making gestures suggesting payments.
ICYMI – President Trump on caravan: “I think the Democrats had something to do with it.”
Full video here: https://t.co/Rd9XUcaaML pic.twitter.com/JTQLDsvybj
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 23, 2018
Vice President Mike Pence, meanwhile, told the Washington Post that there are most certainly people of Middle Eastern descent in the crowd, while Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández told him that the migrant caravan was “financed by Venezuela,” according to Breitbart‘s Joshua Caplan.
“It’s inconceivable that there are not people of Middle Eastern descent in a crowd of more than 7,000 people advancing toward our border,” Pence said. “In the last fiscal year, we apprehended more than 10 terrorists or suspected terrorists at our southern border from countries referred to in the lexicon as ‘other than Mexico’ — that means from the Middle East region.”
The Vice President then revealed that Hernández told him that “leftist groups” from the Central American country organized the caravan, “financed by Venezuela” to “challenge our sovereignty, challenge our border.” –Breitbart
A political gift?
Former Trump campaign adviser Barry Bennett told the Washington Post that the caravan was a “political gift” for the GOP right before midterms.
“I wish they were carrying heroin. I wish we had thought of it. It speaks to the dearth of our creativity, unfortunately,” said Bennett, adding “There are 7,000 people marching toward the U.S. border. One party wants to let them in. The other party wants to keep them out.“
According to an October 15 Pew Research poll, 75% of Republican voters consider illegal immigration a “very big” problem, while only 19% of Democrats consider it a top concern.
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