These Are The Central American Migrants In Trump's Crosshairs
Some people reclined under palm trees, while others drew water from a cistern for makeshift baths. As the sun beat down, a group of skinny kids kicked soccer balls across a field of parched grass.
After days on the road, trudging northward on foot and by bus, many of the roughly 1,000 migrants, mostly from Honduras, were hot and exhausted Wednesday as they camped out at a sports complex in Matias Romero, a small town in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca.
And many of them were surprised that in recent days they have attracted the intense attention of President Trump.
Beginning with a series of tweets Sunday, Trump has sought to stop the migrant caravan. On Wednesday he asked the governors of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to send National Guard units to the southwestern border. He has also threatened to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement unless Mexican authorities intervene.
Trump's threats have sparked a political crisis in Mexico, with its leaders decrying what they see as an insult to Mexico's sovereignty while at the same time scrambling to bring the migrants in line with Mexican immigration laws.
On Wednesday, the Mexican Senate issued a decree saying it "demands respect for the Mexican people from President Donald Trump," and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto told reporters he wants an explanation for the plan for National Guard troops at the border.