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Migrant caravan: What is it and why does it matter? Migrant caravan: What is it and why does it matter?
(14 days later)
Thousands of migrants from Central America are trudging north towards the US-Mexico border. Thousands of migrants have arrived at the US-Mexico border after travelling more than 4,000km (2,500 miles) from Central America.
They say they are fleeing persecution, poverty and violence in their home countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.They say they are fleeing persecution, poverty and violence in their home countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
The journey poses a host of dangers, such as dehydration and criminal gangs, but many of the migrants say they feel safer travelling in numbers. Many of them say their goal is to settle in the US despite warnings by US officials that anyone found entering the country illegally will face arrest, prosecution and deportation.
Here's what you need to know about the convoy of people known as the migrant caravan. Where are they now?
How did it begin? Almost 3,000 Central American migrants have arrived in the Mexican border city of Tijuana after crossing Mexico and parts of Central America. More than 2,750 have sought refuge in a shelter set up by the mayor's office.
On 12 October, in the crime-ridden Honduran city of San Pedro Sula, a group of 160 people gathered at a bus terminal and prepared to set off on the dangerous journey. Those now in Tijuana are part of a migrant caravan which left the crime-ridden Honduran city on 13 October. The group, made up mainly of Hondurans, was joined along the way by other migrants from Guatemala and El Salvador.
They had been planning the trek for more than a month, in an attempt to escape unemployment and the threat of violence in their home country. Another 3,000 left Mexicali, a border town to the east of Tijuana, on Tuesday to join their fellow migrants there.
Most previous migrant caravans have numbered a few hundred people, but after a former politician posted about the plan on Facebook, news of it quickly spread and the numbers swelled. There are also other smaller groups of migrants which have not yet reached the US border. There are four groups of Salvadoreans adding up to about 3,000 people who have left their home country since the end of October. They are in different parts of Guatemala and Mexico heading towards the US border.
By the time the group set off in the early hours of 13 October, more than 1,000 Hondurans had joined. In total the number of migrants expected to reach the border is predicted to reach 10,000.
They have since crossed into neighbouring Guatemala and then Mexico, with thousands more people joining along the way. What do they want?
Why did they form a caravan? The migrants say they are leaving their respective countries in the hope of building a better future for themselves and their families.
Most of the migrants say they are seeking a new life and better opportunities in the US or Mexico. Some say they have been threatened or extorted by criminal gangs operating in their hometowns. Many are travelling with their children whom they do not want to fall prey to the gangs.
Others say they are fleeing violence in their home country and intend to apply for asylum. Others hope to get jobs abroad which pay enough for them to send money to their relatives who stayed behind.
Honduras, which has a population of about nine million, has endemic problems with gang violence, drug wars and corruption. The wider region has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Many say their dream is to reach the US. Some of them have relatives there already whom they hope to join, others have chosen it as their destination because they think they will earn higher salaries there than in Latin America.
"It's our dream to reach the United States, we want to give our children a better future and here [in Honduras] we can't find work," one mother of two told local newspaper El Heraldo. What has been the US reaction?
While Central Americans have long fled their homelands for the US and have sometimes joined forces along the way, the organised nature of this caravan is relatively new. Long before the first members of the caravan reached the US border, President Donald Trump labelled the migrant caravan as "an invasion".
Migrants are often kidnapped by people traffickers and drugs gangs who force them to work for them. A large group such as this one is harder to target and therefore offers more protection. Ahead of the midterm elections in the US, he tweeted dozens of time about the migrants alleging that "many gang members and some very bad people are mixed into the caravan heading to our southern border" and warning that "our military is waiting for you".
César Gómez, a 20-year old from Guatemala, said he jumped at the chance of joining the caravan to avoid the dangers of travelling alone and paying thousands of dollars to people smugglers. On 2 November, just days before the midterms, he told voters at a rally that "if you don't want America to be overrun by masses of illegal aliens and giant caravans, you'd better vote Republican".
How big is the group? He also deployed about 5,800 troops to the southern border to "harden" it, including adding concertina wire to some stretches of the border fence, a photo of which he tweeted on 19 November.
There are several caravans moving north. The first and biggest is the one that left San Pedro Sula on 13 October but two more have formed since and are following behind the first one. Mr Trump also issued an order denying the possibility of asylum to migrants crossing the southern border illegally but that order has since been halted by a US federal judge.
The main caravan is estimated to have 5,000 people, the two others are smaller. The US authorities also briefly closed the San Ysidro port of entry to "restrict access to a large group attempting to run through the border crossing".
What is life like for the migrants? On 20 November. US Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen warned that "this administration will not tolerate frivolous asylum claims or illegal entry".
The journey is gruelling and poses a number of challenges for those who decide to join the caravan. The hot weather means sunburn and dehydration are a constant risk. What are the migrants' options?
The migrants have mainly been sleeping on the streets or in makeshift camps and there is a lack of clean water and sanitation. At times, food has been in short supply. The migrants who have reached Tijuana are considering their options. Most of them set off with the plan of reaching the US and many say they will claim asylum there.
As the caravan has progressed, the towns they pass through have become more organised about providing shelter and food.
At least two migrants died when they slipped from the vehicles they had boarded and were run over.
What happens if they reach the US?
There is a legal obligation to hear asylum claims from migrants who have arrived in the US if they say they fear violence in their home countries.There is a legal obligation to hear asylum claims from migrants who have arrived in the US if they say they fear violence in their home countries.
Those seeking asylum must be fleeing due to a serious fear of persecution. Under international law, these are considered refugees.Those seeking asylum must be fleeing due to a serious fear of persecution. Under international law, these are considered refugees.
If an asylum seeker enters the US illegally, they are still entitled to a hearing of their claim.If an asylum seeker enters the US illegally, they are still entitled to a hearing of their claim.
But those seeking a better quality of life - even if they are fleeing devastating poverty - are not considered refugees and do not have the same protections.But those seeking a better quality of life - even if they are fleeing devastating poverty - are not considered refugees and do not have the same protections.
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions says the "credible fear" asylum rule has been exploited in the past, and announced in June that victims of domestic abuse and gang violence would no longer generally qualify under it. The alternative is to stay in Mexico. Outgoing Mexican President President Enrique Peña Nieto has said that those wanting to stay would be welcome and offered jobs, providing they agreed to register and comply with Mexican laws.
This "Turn-back Policy" is currently subject to a lawsuit from the Southern Poverty Law Center, which accuses immigration officials of unlawfully delaying access to the asylum process. Some migrants have also returned to their places of origin. According to the latest figures provided by Honduran officials, 7,000 Hondurans have turned back during their trek north and returned to Honduras.
Why are we hearing so much about this caravan? Some Hondurans have cast doubt on this figure but Director of Honduras's National Institute of Immigration Carolina Menjivar has insisted that it is accurate.
Unlike previous smaller convoys of migrants, this one has drawn the attention of US President Donald Trump. How have they been treated along the way?
He has criticised a number of Central American countries for allowing people to leave the region and come "illegally" to the US. When the migrants first crossed from Guatemala into Mexico, they were stopped by riot police at the bridge separating the two countries. After an at times tense stand-off, the police let them through.
Mr Trump has also threatened to cut off foreign aid to these countries, but he has not specified what money will be cut and it is unclear how he would do so. Many of the Mexican towns where the migrants stopped along the way offered them shelter, food and water. Volunteers dropped off shoes and clothes and cooked meals. A number of musicians, some famous, others less so, also turned up at the camps to entertain the migrants and lorry drivers offered lifts.
Curbing illegal immigration was one of the main campaign promises Mr Trump made when he ran for president. But in Tijuana, hundreds of people protested against their arrival holding up signs reading "no to the invasion".
His Republican Party is facing mid-term elections on 6 November and could be unseated by Democrats in the House of Representatives. Why did the form a caravan?
Mr Trump has said the "invasion" of migrants would find the US military waiting for them and, on 29 October, it was announced that the US would send 5,200 troops to the border with Mexico. Honduras, which has a population of about nine million, has endemic problems with gang violence, drug wars and corruption. The wider region has one of the highest murder rates in the world.
The president also told Fox News that "tent cities" would be built to house migrants seeking asylum in the US. While Central Americans have long fled their homelands for the US and have sometimes joined forces along the way, the organised nature of this caravan is relatively new.
Migrants are often kidnapped by people traffickers and drugs gangs which force them to work for them. A large group such as this one is harder to target and therefore offers more protection.