Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday credited President Donald Trump for his “successful” effort to stop a caravan of asylum-seekers headed through Mexico toward the U.S. border, even though it’s not clear Trump had any affect on the caravan’s path.
“Earlier this week, media outlets reported that a so-called ‘migrant caravan’ was making its way through Mexico with the intent of illegally crossing the southern border of the United States,” Sessions said in a statement. “The President was clear that this caravan needed to be stopped before it arrived at our southern border, and his efforts now appear to be successful.”
Trump first raged at the caravan of Central American migrants less than an hour after National Border Patrol Council president and former Trump transition official Brandon Judd spoke about it on Fox News over the weekend. The caravan, organized by Pueblo Sin Fronteras, occurs annually.
Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch & Release. Getting more dangerous. “Caravans” coming. Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW. NO MORE DACA DEAL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2018
But it’s not clear that Trump’s attacks had affect on the caravan.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the caravan’s troubles were more logistical, noting that the group had remained “stalled” on a soccer field in Oaxaca “for days.”
“If you are looking for a plan, there isn’t one,” Irineo Mujica, the director of Pueblo Sin Fronteras, told the Post, adding: “Our job with the caravan ends in Mexico City.”
Mujica told BuzzFeed Tuesday that migrants with valid asylum claims would continue north toward the U.S. border after the caravan had reached Mexico City. The outlet noted that Mexican immigration officials had announced Monday that the caravan would be disbanded by Wednesday–though Mujica pushed back on that claim.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielson confirmed Wednesday that Trump would sign a proclamation sending National Guard troops to fortify the border.
