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His tweets arrive just weeks before the mid-term elections of 2018 and he has focused on immigration as a key issue, without sufficient evidence to accuse Democrats of pushing for outdated borders. in what appears to be a campaign of naked fear to convince his followers. Immigration was a key issue in the 2016 presidential race.
Crowds of migrants, estimated at about 7,500 people on Monday, resumed Sunday their long trip north to Mexico, as part of a caravan of migrants from Central America.
Currently, migrants are at Miguel Hidalgo Central Park, in the center of Tapachula. The organizers predict that they are moving north to reach the city of Huixtla, in the north of the country, located about 20 km north, and rest there.
The president, in his tweets, also made several dubious statements about immigration and caravan. Among them: the "unknowns of the Middle East" are "mixed" with the caravan, it would cut any foreign aid by the caravan and the Mexican authorities did not prevent the migrants from entering Mexico.
Asked later on Monday about his claim about "unknowns from the Middle East" in the caravan, Trump replied, "Unfortunately, they have a lot of people in this group."
"We have to stop them at the border and, unfortunately, you look at the countries, they have not done their job," he said. "They have not done their job Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador – they are paid a lot of money, every year we give them foreign aid and they do nothing for us, nothing."
Here is what we know:
Are there "unknowns from the Middle East" "mixed" in the caravan of migrants?
Trump tweeted "criminals and strangers from the Middle East are mixed" in the caravan of migrants heading for the United States. He called it a "national emergence" (sic).
It's hard to know what "Unknown Milf" Trump seems to be alluding to in his tweet, as there has been no report, in the press or publicly from intelligence agencies, suggesting that he There are "Bas-Orientals" anchored in the caravan.
However, earlier this month, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said foreign nationals linked to terrorism had been captured in the country during his administration, which began in January 2016.
"We have arrested nearly 100 people closely linked to terrorist groups, especially the Islamic State, not only have we arrested them on our territory, but they have also been deported to their country of origin. You all have information here, "Morales said. at a conference on prosperity and security in Central America attended by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
There is no direct link or correlation between Morales' statement and Trump's statement on Twitter.
The Department of Homeland Security did not provide any evidence to substantiate the president's assertion regarding "unknowns from the Middle East" in the caravan when CNN asked him on Monday.
A ministry official told CNN that during fiscal year 2018, Customs and Border Protection "apprehended 17,256 criminals, 1,019 gang members, and 3,028 foreign groups from the United States." interests such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria and Somalia: 10 known or suspected terrorists to visit or enter the United States every day during fiscal 2017. "
The Department of Homeland Security has not specified any country in the Middle East.
Stressing the president's assertion that there would be "unknowns from the Middle East" mixed with the caravan, a spokesman for the state department said he understood the plurality of nationalities in the caravan and we referred to the Department of Homeland Security for more information.
Will the administration cut off foreign aid? Can they?
Trump tweeted that because "Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were not able to prevent people from leaving their country and illegally going to the United States, the" United States "will now start cut, or substantially reduce, the help regularly given to them ".
It is difficult to know where the administration will propose to proceed with the cuts that the president seems to be talking about, and CNN has approached the White House and DHS for further information.
However, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act prohibits the President from withholding – or impounding – the appropriate funds by Congress.
New York representative Eliot Engel, the Democratic Party's top foreign affairs committee, said Monday that his office has contacted the Government Accountability Office to ensure the president does not violate the law.
"Fortunately, the Congress – and not the President – has the power of the stock market, and my colleagues and I will not stand idly by, as this administration ignores the intentions of the Congress," Engel said in a statement.
Under the Trump administration, and with the approval of the Republican-controlled Congress, foreign aid to Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras – the three countries he mentioned on Monday – has already been significantly reduced and the administration is considering to continue reducing aid during the 2019 financial year.
Have the Mexican authorities been unable to prevent the caravan of migrants from traveling to the United States?
Trump tweeted on Monday that "the Mexican police and army can not stop the caravan from heading south to the US border."
He added that the migrants would leave Tapachula in Mexico for the city of Huixtla, located more than 30 km northwest of their workplace on Monday morning.
Although the Mexican authorities said before the arrival of the caravan that anyone entering the country "illegally" could be apprehended and deported, many caravan migrants appear to have bypassed the authorities.
The way the authorities will react to the thousands of other migrants heading north is not clear.
Catherine Shoichet of CNN, Jennifer Hansler, Geneva Sands, Dakin Andone, Patrick Oppmann and Natalie Gallon contributed to this report.
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