Approximately 1,500 illegal aliens, mostly from Honduras, but some from other parts of Central America, are on a journey to the United States border. Once reached, they will reportedly demand asylum from the U.S. government.
Yesterday, President Trump chimed in on the issue and threatened to end DACA negotiations if Congress failed to act:
"Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch & Release. Getting more dangerous. 'Caravans' coming. Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW. NO MORE DACA DEAL!"
Link:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/980443810529533952
- realDonaldTrump
He also condemned the Mexican government for "doing very little, if not nothing" to stop the influx of illegal aliens into the U.S.:
"Mexico is doing very little, if not NOTHING, at stopping people from flowing into Mexico through their Southern Border, and then into the U.S. They laugh at our dumb immigration laws. They must stop the big drug and people flows, or I will stop their cash cow, NAFTA. NEED WALL!"
Link:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/980451155548491777
- realDonaldTrump
"These big flows of people are all trying to take advantage of DACA. They want in on the act!"
Link:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/980451798606602241
- realDonaldTrump
The president followed up with additional tweets this morning:
"Mexico has the absolute power not to let these large 'Caravans' of people enter their country. They must stop them at their Northern Border, which they can do because their border laws work, not allow them to pass through into our country, which has no effective border laws....."
Link:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/980762392303980544
- realDonaldTrump
"...Congress must immediately pass Border Legislation, use Nuclear Option if necessary, to stop the massive inflow of Drugs and People. Border Patrol Agents (and ICE) are GREAT, but the weak Dem laws don’t allow them to do their job. Act now Congress, our country is being stolen!"
Link:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/980764358530789380
- realDonaldTrump
National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) Union Chief Brandon Judd spoke to 'Fox & Friends' on Sunday and said "the migrants are riding on the benefit of catch and release, when illegal immigrants are detained in the U.S. and released while they await for their court hearings."
"First off, you have got a Mexican government entity that is assisting these individuals that are coming up to the United States. These individuals do not have passports or legal documents to be in Mexico, yet you got an agency that’s helping them get to our [U.S.] border.
"Once they [the migrants] enter the country, even if we [border patrol agents] are standing at the border with our hands out saying, ‘Don’t enter, don’t enter,’ all they have to do is cross one foot into the border and we have to take them into custody. If they ask for asylum or say I fear to go back to my country, then we have to process them under ‘credible fear’ which allows them to be released into our country."
Now, a list of demands posted on Facebook by the caravan's organizers prior to their departure has been discovered. It says the following:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2018
Tapachula, Mexico
To the governments of Central America, Mexico, and the United States of America,
To the media,
To human rights organizations,
To civil society,
We are a group of people from different nations, religions, genders, gender expressions, and sexual orientations migrating and seeking refuge. We seek to become one collective, supporting each other shoulder to shoulder and demonstrating that by uniting we can abolish borders.
We Central Americans have formed a caravan of many united in struggle. We leave Tapachula, Chiapas on March 25.
If all goes well we will be in Puebla, Mexico from April 5 to 9 to participate in legal preparation and workshops. From there we will hope for the blessing of solidarity from the Mexican people and human rights organizations, who we hope will join our struggle and assist us with the supplies and resources that they have available. We appreciate the support and collaboration of the people of Mexico and the United States. We hope to be an example of solidarity and struggle to the world.
We demand of our Central American countries:
-An end to political corruption
-An end to violence against women and the LGBTQIA community
-An end to failures of justice for victims of domestic violence, extortion, threats, and homophobia
-An end to corruption between gangs, the police, and governments
-An end to murder with impunity and gang recruitment of youth
We demand of Mexico and the United States:
-That they respect our rights as refugees and our right to dignified work to be able to support our families
-That they open the borders to us because we are as much citizens as the people of the countries where we are and/or travel
-That deportations, which destroy families, come to an end
-No more abuses against us as migrants
-Dignity and justice
-That the US government not end TPS for those who need it
-That the US government stop massive funding for the Mexican government to detain Central American migrants and refugees and to deport them
-That these governments respect our rights under international law, including the right to free expression
-That the conventions on refugee rights not be empty rhetoric
"The border is stained red!"
"Because there they kill the working class!"
"Why do they kill us? Why do they murder us..."
"If we are the hope of Latin America?"
Sincerely,
2018 Refugee Caravan “Migrantes en la Lucha”
Pueblo Sin Fronteras
Source: https://www.facebook.com/PuebloSF/posts/2103600996333257
UPDATE (4/2/2018 at 3:15 PM Pacific):
According to a recent post on the 'Pueblo Sin Fronteras' Facebook account, the caravan is currently located near the city of Matias Romero Avendano in Southern Mexico:
Link: https://www.facebook.com/PuebloSF/posts/2115152075178149
English translation:
"Thanks to the community of Matias Romero for their solidarity with the Caravan Viacrusis Migrantes en la Lucha."
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