Honduran migrants are taking part in a caravan bound for the United States, in the suburbs of Tapachula, towards Huixtla, in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, on October 22, 2018.(Photo: Johan Ordonez, AFP / Getty Images)

HUIXTLA, Mexico – Migrants from Central America cross Mexico on Tuesday as part of a controversial caravan – a president Donald Trump bursts against the mid-term elections – continues his long journey to the United States. US-Mexican border.

The first waves of migrants – which, according to US officials, could reach 7,200 people and are growing – began arriving late Monday in the small town of Huixtla, in southern Mexico, after an exhausting eight-hour trek . Many people chose to sleep in nature on the public square to sleep all night before continuing their trip north on Tuesday. They were at least 1,100 miles from McAllen, Texas, the closest entrance to the US-Mexico border.

The caravan began on October 13 when a group of migrants, mainly Hondurans, embarked on the journey north, fleeing government corruption, extreme poverty and rampant violence. The caravan has already crossed Guatemala and crosses southern Mexico with migrants from Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. C & # 39; was organized by Pueblo Sin Fronteras, a human rights group providing legal aid and assistance to migrants. This is the second trailer this year, but it is considerably larger and has attracted more media attention than last spring.

Trump talked about the last caravan of migrants since last week, referring to Twitter to tear the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras for failing to handle the migration crisis and threatening to further reduce US aid to these countries. He also blamed Mexico, although his government sent a federal police force and joined more than 30 US officials to examine migrants' asylum claims before they arrived in the United States.

In an exclusive interview with Air Force One Monday, Trump told USA TODAY that he would send as many soldiers as needed to the US-Mexico border to block the caravan, calling their assault "an assault on our country".

The migrants board a truck as they take part in a caravan heading to the United States, in the suburbs of Tapachula, to travel to Huixtla, in the state of Chiapas. , in Mexico. (Photo: PEDRO PARDO / AFP / Getty Images)

He later criticized Democrats over immigration during a tumultuous rally in Houston, declaring at a crowded arena that the migrant caravan would be a key issue in mid-November.

Speaking at a rally to support Senator Ted Cruz's re-election campaign, Trump redoubled his efforts to link the group of several thousand immigrants to Democrats a few hours after asserting, without proof, that caravan included "unknowns from the Middle East".

"Democrats have launched an assault on the sovereignty of our country," Trump told thousands at the Toyota Center in Houston. "The crisis on our border right now that we are talking about is the only result of democratic laws and activist and democratic judges."

More: President Trump blames Democrats on immigration and caravan at rally for Ted Cruz

Trump reiterated that "the Democrats had something to do with" the caravan of Central Americans heading to the United States. Neither the president nor the White House has provided evidence of this claim, which the Democrats have denied.

Senator Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, a critical critic of Trump who represents a border state, challenged the president's rhetoric, stating in an interview with CNN that it was "a tactic of fear."

"With such a wide border, you will meet people from other countries, some of whom, of course, have harmful motives," he said. "But to give the impression that it looks like this, it's to put here people who would hurt us and to point out the – the criminals among them – I just do not think that it's all right. is the right way to tackle it. "

"Most of them (migrants) are people fleeing violence or looking for a better life and we have programs for some of them, asylum programs. And of course, we obviously can not accept everyone. "

Flake stressed that the United States must have border security, "but it must be done in a thoughtful way."

More: Caravan migrants flood southern Mexico, pulling suitcases and hoping to reach the US-Mexico border

Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, sided with Trump.

"PresTrump, as commander in chief, is right to defend the country / borders and stop the attack on the national sovereignty of the caravan of more than 7,000 migrants heading to the United States " he tweeted on Monday. "It's not fair for legal immigrants who follow the proper legal process. We need to help Trump's administrator to secure the border + fill existing gaps. "

Representative Nita Lowey, D-NY, the largest Democrat sitting on the House Credits Committee, said Trump's plan to cut aid to Central American countries was flawed.

"Reducing funding would aggravate the problem, not better," she said in a statement.

According to the latest figures provided publicly by the Mexican government, Mexican and American officials sent 640 migrants to the National Institute of Migration because they wanted to "take refuge" in Mexico. About 500 people were assisted to return voluntarily to Honduras and Guatemala. Another thousand are repatriated to Guatemala. About 900 migrants who tried to illegally enter Mexico will also be deported to their country of origin.

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Contributor: Sergio Bustos; The Associated Press

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