The Caravan: Are the thousand of people walking toward the U.S. border as harmful as you think?
Since the Caravan began in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, the thousands of people walking endless miles continue to move closer to the U.S. border.
There are now over 14,000 people walking in the Caravan, among them are many women and children, trekking over 2,000 miles in hopes of a better future. President Donald Trump seems to think that, among the men, women, and children are terrorists and criminals.
In late October, about a week before Election Day, Pres. Trump began calling the caravan an invasion.
Trump is also placing blame on Democrats for the caravan, though it began on his watch. In fact, the caravan is simply a group of desperate immigrants, escaping a crime-ridden country with an average of 20 homicides each day. Honduras, the origin country of the caravan, is not an ideal country to live whether you’re a man, woman, or especially a child.
“The country home to 8.25 million people and has reported 90.4 murders for every 100,000 residents, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,” the Washington Examiner reports.
As a first-world country, the United States should do more to make the world a safer place for all people of all ethnicities and backgrounds. Of course, precautions should be taken. But stereotyping is something of the past, and should not be done, especially by the president.
The only way for the immigrants to be accepted into the United States is if they were to apply for asylum in Mexico. If not, they will be turned away at the border.
About 3,000 of the migrants applied for refuge in Mexico, while hundreds have returned home after seeing what seeking life in America truly entails.
“Members of the illegal immigrant caravan chanted “si se puedo!” as they made their way north through Mexico, having defied the will of one country and vowing to test the spine of another, the U.S., very soon,” The Washington Times reports.
The chant translates to “Yes We Can!” — a famous Cesar Chavez quote which has been used by immigrant-rights activists for many years. As the caravan continues toward the U.S. border, they are escorted by Mexican police who were unable to stop the migrants at the Guatemala-Mexico border.
Full of hope, they continue to walk hours each day carrying their lives in backpacks. They are tired, hungry, and injured, and arguably, deserve all the help they can get.
Some are looking for work while others are simply looking to escape the dangers of their homeland. However, many of them have decided to turn back because they have heard what Pres. Trump has said regarding people entering the border.
Many woke up to the tactics being used against people in the caravan when U.S. Border Patrol used tear gas against unarmed migrants in Tijuana, Mexico in later November. Among the victims were many children clinging onto their parents for dear life. This was backed by Pres. Trump, who also denied in the days to come that children were tear-gassed, despite photographic evidence to the contrary.
Perhaps the U.S. isn’t the safest place for them after all.
The way Trump has spoken about the immigrants is inhumane. His words and his leadership are far from a good example of what the U.S. should be advocating. American is a country built on immigration. People knocking at our door deserve an opportunity to have a better life and not be separated from their families while escaping danger and poverty.
Most migrants are eager and willing to work, and will do anything necessary to be accepted legally. No matter their situation, they are people with families and lives of their own who should be treated like human beings.
