New migrant caravan travelling to US from Honduras adding to tensions over border

Yet another migrant caravan is making the long and dangerous journey to the United States, with the situation on the US-Mexico border having already contributed to the longest government shutdown in American history.

Honduran Deputy Foreign Minister Nelly Jerez said that between 800 and 1,000 people were travelling together and headed towards the Agua Caliente border crossing into Guatemala.

Hundreds of Honduran refugees and migrants also left a bus station in the northern city of San Pedro Sula and moved along to join the caravan.

The first groups to leave included many women and children who got onto buses destined for the Guatemalan border. Others are walking towards the border, or hitchhiking, braving steady rains to flee violent or impoverished conditions that have made life unbearable at home.

“People leave every day,” Bartolo Fuentes, a migrant activist who is accompanying the caravan, told the Associated Press. “Every day 300, 400 people go. The caravan has been like a constant river of people to Mexico, to the United States. What happens is it wasn't visible”.

Donald Trump has used the issue of such caravans to rally support during last year’s midterms and more recently, to try and make a case for the $5.7bn in funds he has asked Congress for to build a border wall. Democrats have refused to sanction the spending, leading to the government shutdown.

True to form, Mr Trump seized on the incoming migrant caravan on Tuesday to drum up support for his border wall.

“A big new Caravan is heading up to our Southern Border from Honduras,” the president tweeted on Tuesday. ”Only a Wall will work. Only a Wall, or Steel Barrier, will keep our Country safe”!

The first groups left on Monday night from the bus station in San Pedro Sula.

Many of those leaving were reportedly carrying knapsacks, and walked along busy roads as they left the city.

Those with children pushed children, or walked along the roads holding the hands of older children.

It is unclear what fate may await the migrants once they make their way further north, but Honduran media has reported that authorities there have reinforced their border with Guatemala. Migrants arriving and attempting to travel north will be required to show proper documentation, including children. Parents have been warned that they could face up to three years in prison if they are found attempting to take children across the border without correct to documents, according to Security Minister Julian Pacheco.

Mexico, too, is preparing for the migrants, with the interior minister saying last week that they will be prepared.

"We have information that a new caravan is forming to enter our country in mid-January,” Olga Sánchez Cordero, the interior minister, said at a news conference last week. “We are already taking the necessary steps to ensure the caravan enters in a safe and orderly way".