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Illegal Caravan Crushed: Only 50 Out of 1,500 Show up After Trump Took Stand - 97% Reduction

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The migrant “caravan” moving through Mexico toward the U.S. border has been a hot-button issue over the last month. As a mob of thousands of Central American refugees proceeded north, President Donald Trump turned the issue into one of insecurity versus enforcement — and it looks like Trump has won.

Despite estimates that around 1,500 immigrants were expected to head for the American border, so far only 50 have shown up. That is just 3 percent of the predicted crowd.

It’s impossible to know for sure, but there is a strong chance that by raising awareness of the issue and requesting National Guard assistance in southern states, President Trump helped persuade most of the caravan to disperse and not risk being taken into custody during illegal border crossings.

“The first 50 Central American migrants in a caravan that set out from southern Mexico in late March have reached the U.S. border, now secured with help from National Guard personnel sent by President Donald Trump,” reported Newsmax.

“Since peaking at around 1,500 people, the migrant caravan has dwindled under pressure from Trump and Mexican migration authorities, who vowed to separate those migrants with a right to stay in Mexico from those who did not,” that outlet continued.

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Fifty may be dramatically short of 1,500, but additional stragglers may continue to arrive at the border in the coming days. Even so, it’s likely that the total number of migrants trying to enter the United States will remain low.

“Since yesterday, some began to cross into the United States to turn themselves in from Tijuana and request asylum,” explained Jose Maria Garcia, the director of an immigrant program called Juventud 2000.

Do you believe Trump's words and actions helped disperse this caravan of border-crossers?

“We understand more of [the migrants] will do the same,” he continued.

President Trump was roundly criticized by the left after he went on a Twitter tirade calling attention to the roving migrants and warning that the future of NAFTA could be in peril unless Mexico and other Latin countries helped deal with the problem.

“The big Caravan of People from Honduras, now coming across Mexico and heading to our ‘Weak Laws’ Border, had better be stopped before it gets there,” he scolded on April 3.

“The renegotiation of NAFTA has been a common topic for Trump since his presidential campaign,” Conservative Tribune reported at the time. “Stunning photos of mass migration from Central America, moving through Mexico apparently unimpeded and toward the United States border, have seized the public’s attention — and now NAFTA has become part of a major negotiating tactic.”

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To the chagrin of liberals, Donald Trump’s words and his call for National Guard troops seem to have made an impact. As CT reported earlier this month, Mexico agreed to help disband the caravan.

Based on the fairly low number of 50 migrants arriving at the border so far, it certainly looks like a win for Trump.

This is the point that so many on the left fail to see, or purposely ignore: For all of the chaos and uncertainty of the Trump White House, the entire world understands that the 45th president is not soft.

Where Barack Obama spoke softly and left his big stick at home — to borrow Theodore Roosevelt’s famous axiom — Donald Trump seems to certainly mean his warnings and threats. The left will call him a loose cannon. They may not even be wrong.

But the value of being a firebrand is that “red lines” tend to be enforced, and nobody doubts that the words can be backed by fierce action. The U.S. border may now be much safer as a result.

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Benjamin Arie is an independent journalist and writer. He has personally covered everything ranging from local crime to the U.S. president as a reporter in Michigan before focusing on national politics. Ben frequently travels to Latin America and has spent years living in Mexico.




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