“HIGHLY-ORGANIZED” EFFORT SENDS THOUSANDS, TESTS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S RESOLVE
by Sharon Rondeau
Photos Courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Taken by Yesica Uvina
(Oct. 26, 2018) — On Friday night’s “Hannity,” investigative journalist Sara A. Carter, who recently returned from Guatemala, said that the “caravan” on its way to the U.S. southern border from Central America comprises many people who were told that entry into the U.S. would not be difficult.
Carter’s exclusive video footage of the caravan was aired showing virtually all young men seemingly without women and children, although she said that in some instances, women and children were placed at the front of masses of travelers. Some had been cruelly exploited, Carter said.
She added that through a “highly organized” effort carried out by open-borders groups providing support to those traveling north from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, the travelers were “coached” on what to say to U.S. border officials upon their arrival in order to secure the best opportunity to enter the country.
U.S. immigration laws extend political asylum to those fleeing persecution because of their membership in a social, religious or ethnic group in their home countries. It does not encompass those attempting to enter because of domestic violence or gang activity in their neighborhoods or homes.
On Wednesday, Carter reported that she discovered members of the brutal street gang MS-13 in the caravan. On Thursday, Judicial Watch, which also sent personnel to Guatemala earlier this week, reported that unaccompanied children appear to have been trafficked through the caravan and were rescued by the Guatemalan government.
On Tuesday, JW reported that the caravan comprises individuals from countries such as Brazil, India and China as well as Central America.
Carter reiterated mainstream reports that President Trump s considering signing an executive order to close the southern border completely to foreigners seeking entry as a result of the oncoming caravan, which is reportedly as many as 14,000-strong.
Fox News Legal Analyst Gregg Jarrett added that the planned deployment of 800 members of the U.S. military on the southern border is not a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, which precludes the military from performing law-enforcement activity domestically. In May, more than 2,300 service members were sent to the border, The Military Times reported.
As has also been widely reported, Carter said that the additional military presence will serve as “logistical” support to the U.S. Border Patrol, which is expected to be overwhelmed if the “migrants” rush the border between Mexico and the U.S., as they did when crossing the border between Guatemala and Mexico last week.
On Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence told The Washington Post that “it is inconceivable that there are not people of Middle Eastern descent in a crowd of more than 7,000 people advancing toward our border.” As the caravan has continued to advance, the Trump administration has been criticized for failing to “offer evidence” of its claim regarding a Middle Eastern presence.
On Thursday, Trump tweeted that members of the caravan should “turnaround.” [sic] “We are not letting people into the United States illegally.” Last week, he called the approaching groundswell of people a “national emergency.”
Later in Friday’s show, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that “this caravan must be stopped” in the interest of national security.
On Friday night, The Washington Post reported that “The administration’s biggest challenge at the border isn’t that too many Central American migrants are being allowed in or they’re easily winning asylum. Rather, those who cross illegally — between ports of entry — must be taken into custody. U.S. detention capacity is nearly maxed, and U.S. courts limit the government’s ability to keep children in immigration jails beyond 20 days.”
As the caravan has approached the U.S. over the last nine days, Trump has blamed “Congressional Democrat Backed Loopholes” in U.S. immigration laws. Having campaigned on building a “big, beautiful wall” on the southern border to keep out illegals, Trump has been disappointed that it has not been fully funded by Congress over the duration of his presidency to date.