National Emergency: Trump Alerts the Military on Migrant Caravan
President Donlad Trump took to Twitter on Monday saying that he has put the military and Border Patrol on alert due to the swelling caravan of migrants that is making its way through Mexico to the United States southern border.
He called the situation a “national emergency” saying, “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!”
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
The president continued, saying that the Democrats are to blame for “not giving us the votes to change our pathetic Immigration Laws.” He went on to challenge Americans to vote, saying they should “remember the midterms.”
Every time you see a Caravan, or people illegally coming, or attempting to come, into our Country illegally, think of and blame the Democrats for not giving us the votes to change our pathetic Immigration Laws! Remember the Midterms! So unfair to those who come in legally.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2018
Additionally, Trump scorned the Central American countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras for not “stopping people from leaving their country and coming illegally to the U.S.”
He ended his series of tweets by saying that he was going to cut the countries off, or substantially reduce the amount of foreign aid given to them by the United States.
Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were not able to do the job of stopping people from leaving their country and coming illegally to the U.S. We will now begin cutting off, or substantially reducing, the massive foreign aid routinely given to them.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2018
Despite the tweet, however, the Pentagon said on Monday that it had received no word to send troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the Washington Examiner.
Trump’s series of tweets come amid media reports that the caravan has swelled in size to potentially 7,000 migrants.
According to Fox News, a second group of around 1,000 joined the caravan over the weekend bringing the total number in the caravan from anywhere from 5,000 up to 7,000.
The group left Monday departing the Mexican city Tapachula.
Migrant caravan grows as it continues push toward the United States. https://t.co/pUcYeLGmYJ pic.twitter.com/qfBdvDs6eJ
— Slate (@Slate) October 22, 2018
Additionally, The Washington Post reported that among those in the caravan are people who had once lived in the United States and were either deported or returned to their home countries voluntarily.
Job Reyes, 36, told the Post he went to school in the United States from kindergarten through high school, and returned to Guatemala when his visa expired 14 years ago.
He’s put his English to work as an employee of a call center for Metro PCS, according to the Post, but hasn’t been able to earn more than $500 a month.
“It’s time for me to go back to the United States,” he told the Post. “When I heard about the caravan, I knew it was my chance.”
Another migrant in the caravan told the Post he’d been deported from the United States six times. He has a son in the United States, according to the Post, with his girlfriend, a U.S. citizen. The prospect of being deported again didn’t seem to bother him much.
“That’s just how it is,” he said. “They catch you, and you try to get back.”
Other migrants in the caravan told the Post that lack of work and violence within their countries are some of the main driving factors behind the caravan.
“We are workers,” Evin Mata told the Post. “What are we supposed to do in Honduras if there’s no work?”
The caravan started last week with around 200 migrants but has increased exponentially since then.
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