Migrant caravan: Asylum seekers travel through Mexico as Trump walks back suggestion that migrants throwing stones will be shot at border
Critics say the president is stoking fears about the caravan for political reasons ahead of midterm elections
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Your support makes all the difference.Thousands of refugees and migrants from Central America are walking and hitchhiking northwards through Mexico, with Donald Trump walking back his suggestion that any migrants found throwing stones at the US border could be shot by the military.
In addition to this original group, more than 1,000 migrants in a second caravan that forced its way across the river from Guatemala have begun arriving in the southern Mexico city of Tapachula.
President Trump made clear Thursday he will do everything in his power to stop them, dispatching extra troops, threatening to shut border entirely and saying in an afternoon press conference the military would consider rocks thrown at active troops "firearms". He later said that no migrants would be shot by the American military, but that anyone throwing rocks would be arrested.
The issue is being amplified by the president with less than a week before the midterm elections, and various sources have implied or stated without proof that Democrats and progressive donors are somehow funding the caravan that is composed of individuals and families fleeing dangerous conditions in their home countries in Central America. Others, including Mr Trump, have claimed — again, without proof — that the caravan includes "Middle Easterners". The president also indicated that he has no proof that Middle Easterners are in the caravan.
While numerous news outlets and watchdog groups have tried and failed to find proof for those claims — and none has been provided — Republicans clearly see a winning strategy in trying to tie Democrats to the caravan.
In the contentious Texas Senate race, for example, Senator Ted Cruz has attacked his Democratic opponent, Congressman Beto O'Rourke, and claimed that his campaign has been funding the migrant caravan. That statement was not substantiated with evidence that any of that financial support has occurred.
To see how the day unfolded, follow our live blog below.
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Not all Republicans agree with Mr Trump's belief he has the right to end birthright citizenship. Speaker Paul Ryan said it was not possible to end birthright citizenship with an executive order. "You cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order," Mr Ryan, the top Republican in Congress, said in an interview with radio station WVLK, according to the Washington Post.
Members of the latest caravan say they are not trying to catch up with the first because they believe it is too passive and they don't want to be controlled, according to Associated Press.
The first caravan of about 4,000 migrants, mainly from Honduras, passed through Tapachula about 10 days ago.
The “migrant caravan” passing through Mexico towards the US border is at the centre of a political storm ahead of the impending midterm elections.
Here's everything you need to know:
Donald Trump is currently visiting Pittsburgh following the deadly synagogue shooting. Members of Pittsburgh's Jewish community have been protesting the president's arrival.
"The gunman who tore apart our neighbourhood believed your lies about the immigrant caravan in Mexico," protest organisers said in an announcement. "He believed anti-Semitic lies that Jews were funding the caravan."
In a social media post, shooting suspect Robert Bowers accused the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), a group that helps refugees, of bringing "invaders in that kill our people."
The protest announcement echoed an open letter from a group of local Jewish leaders who told Trump: "You are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you fully denounce white nationalism."
You can follow live updates on Donald Trump's visit to Pittsburgh - as mentioned in the previous post - below:
Thank you for following today's coverage of the migrant caravan in Mexico. We will be back tomorrow bringing you all the latest on this ongoing story.
Good morning and welcome to our continuing coverage of the caravan of refugees and migrants making its way to the US-Mexico border.
President Donald Trump has started early this morning - repeating what has been a constant refrain over the last few days, that the military will stop the caravan.
Legally however, the military cannot detain, arrest or process anyone at the border - that must be left to Border Patrol agents.
Yesterday, Mr Trump expanded the issue of the migrant caravan to include "birthright citizenship" - the idea that anyone born on US soil is entitled to be called a US citizen.
In the greatest expansion yet of his hardline immigration policy, Mr Trump has claimed he will stop the practice, which is included in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. He says it can be changed thanks to the wording of the Amendment, many legal scholars disagree.
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