PIJIJIAPAN, Mexico — For two weeks, throngs of people have trudged north, crossing first from Honduras into Guatemala and then on to Mexico, bound for the United States border. They have spent nights in sprawling makeshift camps or in churches and schools, washing their clothes in rivers and relying on donations from locals. As their numbers grew into the thousands, so did attention to their journey, first making news locally and then internationally, as President Trump and Republican politicians took aim. The conversation about the migrant caravan has been characterized by misinformation at times, some of which has spread widely. Here are some important things to know about the group’s origin, who is involved and where it is headed. How many people are traveling with the group and who are they? The United Nations refugee agency, which has helped coordinate relief efforts, said as many as 7,000 people have traveled with the caravan. Unicef estimates at least 2,300 children are among the group.<doc-sep>There’s no indication that the caravan is made up of dangerous migrants. Trump’s assertion on Twitter that there were criminals and “Middle Easterners” mixed into the caravan was not supported by any available evidence. Given the amount of attention paid to the caravan — and Trump’s declaration that he would put a deliberate focus on barring those who participate in it — it seems unlikely that if there were criminals seeking to use the cover of the caravan to enter the United States, they would still think that strategy useful. As has been noted repeatedly since Trump announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, research suggests that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.<doc-sep>A caravan of Central American migrants attempting to reach the U.S. border took a rest break on Sunday, stopping in Tapanatepec, Mexico. The news came the same day that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced that the military has already begun delivering countermeasures to the southern border. The Pentagon has sent jersey barriers in conjunction with plans to deploy active-duty troops there, and full details of the number of troops to be deployed as well as their roles should be announced Sunday night, he told reporters. During an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen vowed that the caravan "is not getting in." "There's a legal way to enter this country," she said. "Those who choose to enter illegally will be stopped. We are working with our partners in Mexico. They have taken unprecedented efforts within their territory to ensure an orderly flow and that those who have no legal right to be there are removed. We intend to do the same." Nielsen soon addressed the convoy itself. "My general message to this caravan is: Do not come," Nielsen said. "You will not be allowed in. ... There is a right way to immigrate to the United States," she continued, "and this is not it." The caravan, which has included as many as 7,200 people and is currently approximately 1,000 miles from the closest border crossing with the U.S., has become a major issue with less than two weeks before the Nov. 6 midterm elections. The group has traversed about 30 miles per day since forming in Honduras, with many members saying they are fleeing the violence and widespread poverty there. The tensions of a long trek through searing heat with tenuous supplies of food and other goods spilled over Saturday night when a dispute over a food line evolved into the beating of a man falsely accused of child stealing. Raul Medina Melendez, security chief for the tiny municipality of Tapanatepec in Oaxaca state, said the town was distributing sandwiches and water to migrants camped in the central square Saturday night. When a man with a megaphone asked people to wait their turn, some men hurled insults at him. "Finally people got really angry and those below began to attack the guy," Medina said. As the man ran, a false rumor spread that he had grabbed a child for protection and he was caught and beaten. Police rescued him and took him to a hospital for treatment, though his condition wasn't immediately clear. On Sunday, several in the caravan took to microphones to denounce the attack. "Is that the way we're going to always behave?" a woman from Honduras asked. "Anytime there's a rumor everyone is going to run to beat up someone?" Also on Saturday, an arm of the Mexican federal government for the first time seemed to be directly helping the migrants advance: Grupo Beta, Mexico’s migrant protection agency, gave rides to stragglers and passed out water. U.S. MILITARY DEPLOYING RESOURCES TO BORDER AS CARAVAN APPROACHES, MATTIS SAYS Other agencies have periodically tried to impede or erode the mass migration, whose progress has led President Trump to threaten action against Mexico. Earlier Saturday, more than 100 federal police dressed in riot gear blocked a highway before dawn to encourage the migrants to apply for refugee status in Mexico rather than continuing the journey north. Police let the caravan proceed after representatives from Mexico's National Human Rights Commission convinced them that a rural stretch of highway without shade, toilets or water was no place for migrants to entertain an offer of asylum. The Mexican government says more than 1,700 people in the caravan have applied for asylum and that other people have gone home, Reuters reported Saturday. Honduras, according to the report, says that 4,500 Honduran citizens trying to leave have recently come back to the Central American country. On Thursday, Trump directly addressed the caravan members on Twitter. “To those in the Caravan, turnaround, we are not letting people into the United States illegally,” he wrote. He added, “Go back to your Country and if you want, apply for citizenship like millions of others are doing!” Fox News' Chris Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
ARRIAGA, Mexico (Reuters) - A U.S.-bound caravan of Central American migrants pressed on through southern Mexico on Saturday, in spite of government offers of jobs, as authorities stepped up efforts to disperse the convoy that has angered U.S. President Donald Trump. Mexican police in riot gear briefly blocked the march of men, women and children as they neared Oaxaca state before dawn, to relay the offer of temporary identification papers, jobs or education for those seeking asylum in Mexico. Trump has threatened to send troops to the U.S. border and cut aid to Central America to try to stop the group of several thousand people that left Honduras two weeks ago. Estimates vary significantly on the group’s size, which has morphed as some migrants return home and newcomers join. At least 150 migrants traveling separately were detained by Friday near Guatemala’s border, a Mexican official said. More than 1,700 people in the convoy have applied for asylum, while others have returned home, according to Mexico’s government. The Honduran ambassador said on Friday the group officially had 3,500 members. Other estimates go much higher. By Saturday, more than 100 Honduran migrants opted to seek refugee status and enter the temporary work program proposed by President Enrique Pena Nieto on Friday, said Mexico’s National Migration Institute. Many others rejected the offer. “We’re going to the United States. Because that’s our dream,” said 28-year-old Honduran Daniel Leonel Esteves at the head of a 50-person wide column of migrants snaking down a highway into the hills. Others echoed his goal to cross the border, declining Mexico’s offer. “Our destination is the United States,” said migrant Francisco Ramirez. Slideshow ( 26 images ) A police official on a road just south of Oaxaca, where migrants were proceeding north from the town of Arriaga in Chiapas state, said authorities intended to keep presenting the asylum offer. “We think it’s very important that every person in the caravan knows these benefits, so that they stop putting their safety at risk crossing these roads,” said federal police commissioner Benjamin Grajeda. Trump and his fellow Republicans have sought to make the migrant caravan and immigration major issues before the Nov. 6 elections, in which Republicans are battling to keep control of Congress. Honduras said 4,500 of its citizens attempting to emigrate have returned to the country in recent days.