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The caravan of several thousand Central Americans migrated back to the US border on Saturday, leaving the Mexican capital for a trek north, where troops were deployed by President Trump to arrest them.
The caravan, which now has about 4,000 migrants, was in Mexico City for four days to rest before resuming its journey to the city of Queretaro in central Mexico. The group began their journey by taking the city subway on the outskirts before walking and hitching along a main highway.
When the group arrived in Queretaro, volunteers offered them tortillas, sandwiches and rice, according to the Associated Press. Local officials had prepared a stadium for the arrival of the group and the migrants had suspended tarpaulins and tents to spend the night.
"I decided to come (with the caravan) to help my family," said Maria Yesenia Perez, who left La Ceiba, Honduras, nearly a month ago with her daughter. 8 years.
Some members of the original group split up and are expected to arrive Monday in the border town of Tijuana, according to Reuters, while others are expected to join Reynosa and other border towns later in the week.
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Those who reach the border will find it harder to seek asylum if they choose to enter the United States illegally. On Thursday, the White House announced that migrants would not be allowed to illegally enter the United States to file asylum applications. This is how the vast majority of the approximately 150,000 families and children of Central America entered the United States in the last fiscal year.
Instead, they will have to enter through official entry points, such as those located near San Diego, Yuma and El Paso. By publishing the new directive, Trump is essentially creating a bottleneck by channeling tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to already overcrowded ports.
But that will not deter those who are still in the caravan.
"Regardless of the rules imposed by the (Trump) government, we can not go home. I have a bullet in my arm and another in the shoulder. If I go home, I'd better leave with a coffin, "Julio Caesar, 30, from Honduras, told Reuters.
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A large number of migrants in the caravan are now carrying blankets, sleeping bags and thick clothing to protect themselves from the colder temperatures in the north after leaving Mexico City. Some have left the capital with water bottles and transparent plastic bags containing bananas and oranges for a long hike.
Others received volunteer juice and ham sandwiches at the time of departure.
Maria Yesenia Perez, 41, who left La Ceiba (Honduras) almost a month ago with her 8 – year – old daughter, told AP that she was ready to wait. to be able to enter the US border.
"I decided to come (with the caravan) to help my family," she said before she and her daughter were hoisted to the back of a trailer.
The caravan became a campaign issue during the mid-term elections in the United States, and President Trump ordered the deployment of more than 5,000 army soldiers to the border to repel the migrants.
Many in the caravan say that they are fleeing endemic poverty, gang violence and political instability mainly in Central American countries such as Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. They are now on the road for weeks.
William The Fox News Youth and the Associated Press contributed to this report.