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Migrant Caravan Surges: 7,000 Illegals Heading to US

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The caravan consisting primarily of Central American migrants seeking to reach the United States has swelled to an estimated 7,000.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has pledged to close down the U.S.-Mexican border and is requiring any who plan to seek asylum in the United States to apply in Mexico first.

Fox News reported Monday that the caravan — which numbered about 1,600 at the beginning of its trek from northen Honduras — had grown to anywhere between 5,000 to 10,000 people. An NBC report put the number at 7,000

The Mexican government had agreed last week to stop the caravan at its southern border with Guatemala, but was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers.

Fox News reported on Monday that Mexican law enforcement felt it could not respond to the caravan with normal crowd disbursement techniques, such as firing tear gas, given the number of young children among the ranks.

According to Fox, about 80 percent of the marchers are men, aged 35 and under, many of whom plan to cross the U.S. border illegally if unable to gain access otherwise.

Trump has posted a series of tweets about the caravan over the weekend and on Monday.

Do you think the U.S. needs to change its immigration 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,” Trump wrote in one. “Criminals and unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in. I have alerted Border Patrol and Military that this is a National Emergency. Must change laws!”

In other tweets, he blamed Democrats for not being willing to change the country’s immigration laws. He also announced the U.S. will begin to cut off or substantially reduce U.S. aid to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Geronimo Gutierrez told Fox News on Thursday his country “has evidence” the caravan is politically motivated.

“They are very well organized,” he told host Brett Baier on “Special Report.”

Related:
Pure Gold: Trump's Plan for Illegals Whose Own Countries Won't Take Them Back

Trump shared that assessment with a campaign rally crowd in Montana last week.

“A lot of money has been passing to people to come up and try and get to the border by Election Day,” he said.

“The crazy Democrats refuse to support any form of border security legislation … They also figure everybody coming in is going to vote Democrat.

“Come Election Day, Americans will remember Kavanaugh, the caravan, law and order and common sense,” Trump added. “The choice could not be more clear: Democrats produce mobs, Republicans produce jobs.”

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. permitted over 1.1 million people to immigrate to the country legally in 2017, which was down slightly from former President Barack Obama’s final year in office, when the number was closer to 1.2 million.

Of that total, approximately 53,000 were from Central America and 168,000 were from Mexico.

The Pew Research Center reported that the U.S. allows more people to immigrate than any other country in the world — by a wide margin.

The Center found, as of 2015, about 1 in 7 Americans (14 percent) were born in other countries, which is near an historic record set in the late 1800s when the percentage reached 14.8 percent.

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Randy DeSoto has written more than 3,000 articles for The Western Journal since he began with the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Randy DeSoto wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith




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