Hundreds of migrants from around a dozen countries left Mexico’s southern border area by foot on Sunday, heading north toward the US border. They hope to make it to the frontier before November’s election out of fear that Donald Trump could win and close the border to asylum-seekers.
Migrants in the group reported that they fear that a Trump administration might stop granting appointments to migrants through CBP One, an app used by asylum-seekers to enter the US legally — by getting appointments at US border posts, where they then make their cases to officials. The app only works in northern Mexico and Mexico City.
Trump is likely to use the caravan to make his case that the US needs a president who is tough on immigration. During the Republican National Convention, he promised to crack down on the border if elected, including increasing deportations of illegal migrants and making asylum-seekers wait in Mexico while their claims are processed.
If the caravan continues to make the headlines, it could be bad news for Kamala Harris, as she trails Trump on immigration and as a majority of Americans – some 55% – believe that immigration levels should be reduced for the first time in two decades.
