WEBVTT 00:02.500 --> 00:05.366 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: They are on a long and difficult trek, thousands of Central American migrants, 00:06.733 --> 00:08.866 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% making their way, as a group, to the United States. 00:08.866 --> 00:13.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The caravan, pausing for rest today in Huixtla, Mexico, has suddenly become the subject of 00:14.300 --> 00:16.366 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% heated political rhetoric here. 00:16.366 --> 00:21.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But, first, a look at who's traveling in the caravan, and why, from Amna Nawaz. 00:23.000 --> 00:27.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: In the southern Mexican city of Tapachula, more than 7,000 migrants, mostly 00:28.566 --> 00:31.366 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Honduran, woke this morning to continue the journey north. 00:31.366 --> 00:36.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% ELSA ROMERO, Migrant (through translator): When we heard the caravan was coming, we joined. 00:36.000 --> 00:38.400 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% This is an opportunity to improve my family's life. 00:38.400 --> 00:42.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: Reuters reporter Delphine Schrank is traveling with the group, and describes 00:42.733 --> 00:45.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% it as less of a caravan and more of an exodus. 00:45.600 --> 00:47.600 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% DELPHINE SCHRANK, Reuters: It's a real mixture. 00:47.600 --> 00:52.366 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% I mean, the majority are fairly young, but it's a complete mixture of men, women, lots 00:55.600 --> 00:58.266 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% of children, people of various ages. 00:58.266 --> 01:02.866 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: Caravans like this have been organized for more than a decade, a group migration 01:02.866 --> 01:07.866 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% built on the principle of safety in numbers, and helped along the way by nonprofits like 01:08.600 --> 01:12.200 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% Pueblo Sin Fronteras. 01:12.200 --> 01:16.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Earlier this spring, a smaller caravan of around 1,500 left Southern Mexico. 01:16.800 --> 01:20.766 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Only a few hundred ultimately sought asylum in the U.S. 01:20.766 --> 01:25.033 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% Schrank says this group came together much more spontaneously, and that the migrants 01:25.033 --> 01:28.700 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% she's talked to are more concerned with what they're leaving than where they end up. 01:28.700 --> 01:33.700 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% DELPHINE SCHRANK: Over and over, I have heard from dozens of migrants who say the same thing, 01:35.766 --> 01:38.833 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% that no matter how cruel or how difficult the welcome is at the United States border, 01:41.366 --> 01:45.866 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% the overwhelming need they feel to flee a toxic mixture of violence, corruption, unemployment, 01:47.966 --> 01:52.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% political failure, as they see it, in Honduras really is what weighs most upon their minds. 01:54.933 --> 01:58.966 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: President Trump's escalating rhetoric, like at this Texas rally last night, has brought 02:01.533 --> 02:03.966 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% this year's caravans to the forefront of the immigration debate, two weeks ahead of midterm elections. 02:05.866 --> 02:08.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: You know, what's happening right now, as a 02:08.933 --> 02:10.966 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% large group of people -- they call it a caravan. 02:10.966 --> 02:15.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% I think the Democrats had something to do with it, and now they're saying, I think we 02:16.866 --> 02:21.700 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% made a big mistake, because people are seeing how bad it is. 02:21.700 --> 02:26.700 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, the migrants continue their journey, mostly on foot, and now over 02:28.066 --> 02:30.566 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% 1,000 miles from the nearest U.S. border crossing. 02:30.566 --> 02:34.366 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Picking it up from there to discuss some of the rhetoric and policy surrounding all of 02:34.366 --> 02:36.133 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% this is Alan Gomez. 02:36.133 --> 02:39.333 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% He's an immigration reporter for USA Today. 02:39.333 --> 02:41.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Alan Gomez, welcome back to the "NewsHour." 02:41.066 --> 02:43.133 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% We heard the president there in Texas last night. 02:43.133 --> 02:47.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But I want to ask you about something he said earlier today in the Oval Office. 02:47.066 --> 02:50.566 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% He was asked about a couple allegations he had made about the caravan. 02:50.566 --> 02:55.533 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% He has said there are members of the gang MS-13 and, as he put it, Middle Easterners 02:56.433 --> 02:58.100 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% traveling in the caravan. 02:58.100 --> 03:00.466 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Here's what the president said earlier today. 03:00.466 --> 03:04.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: Certainly, you have people coming up through 03:04.466 --> 03:09.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% the southern border from the Middle East and other places that are not appropriate for 03:10.666 --> 03:13.433 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% our country, and I'm not letting them in. 03:13.433 --> 03:14.433 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% They're not coming in. 03:14.433 --> 03:15.433 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% All right? 03:15.433 --> 03:16.666 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% They're not coming in. 03:16.666 --> 03:17.533 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% We're going to do whatever we have to. 03:17.533 --> 03:19.633 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% They're not coming in. 03:19.633 --> 03:22.166 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: Alan Gomez, what do you make about what the president is alleging there? 03:22.166 --> 03:24.233 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Is there any validity to that claim? 03:24.233 --> 03:28.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% ALAN GOMEZ, USA Today: Not that his administration can point to as of yet. 03:28.466 --> 03:31.533 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% We have been asking the Department of Homeland Security ever since he started making those 03:31.533 --> 03:36.533 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% claims in a series of tweets where the proof was that there were members of gangs, criminals, 03:38.766 --> 03:42.700 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% as he refers to them generally as Middle Easterners, in the group, and they haven't been able to 03:42.700 --> 03:45.900 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% point to any examples or any proof that anybody exists. 03:45.900 --> 03:49.266 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Instead, what they're doing is they're falling back is, they're falling back on percentages. 03:49.266 --> 03:54.266 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% They have been passing out data of the number of criminals, gang members and people from 03:56.233 --> 03:58.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% - - quote -- "special interest countries" who have been caught trying to cross the border 03:58.733 --> 04:01.300 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% illegally over the past year. 04:01.300 --> 04:05.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% When you put those numbers into context, it shows that about 5 percent of people caught 04:05.033 --> 04:08.833 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% along the border are -- have some kind of criminal background. 04:08.833 --> 04:13.833 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% About 0.3 percent are gang members, and about 0.8 percent come from special interest countries 04:14.933 --> 04:17.900 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% that include some Middle Eastern countries. 04:17.900 --> 04:21.900 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But -- so, they're saying the numbers indicate that there has to be in that group. 04:21.900 --> 04:26.900 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And Vice President Pence made that same claim that, if you look at the size of this, there 04:28.100 --> 04:30.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% just has to be some of those folks in there. 04:30.700 --> 04:34.000 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% In the last hour, we have heard from the Department of Homeland Security that they are confirming 04:34.000 --> 04:37.366 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% that there are some criminals and some Middle Easterners in there. 04:37.366 --> 04:40.000 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% We followed up with them, but haven't heard anything back. 04:40.000 --> 04:44.100 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: You know, the president's focus on this specific caravan has elevated it substantially. 04:45.566 --> 04:48.800 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% There's been caravans in the past, one earlier this year. 04:48.800 --> 04:53.333 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% You know, in the entire immigration landscape, which you cover so deeply, why has this one 04:53.333 --> 04:56.533 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% event caught the president's attention so strongly? 04:56.533 --> 04:58.600 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% ALAN GOMEZ: Timing. 04:58.600 --> 05:03.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% We're just about two weeks away from the election, and basically this falls into his rhetoric 05:04.133 --> 05:06.266 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% so perfectly. 05:06.266 --> 05:11.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% He's basically taken a page out of his 2016 presidential campaign, and just riling up 05:12.000 --> 05:14.100 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% on immigration right now. 05:14.100 --> 05:17.766 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% This is an issue that the 2016 election proved is one that will rile up his base, is one 05:19.433 --> 05:22.400 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% that appeals to them, is one that interests them, is one that scares them. 05:22.400 --> 05:26.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And so the timing of this, the idea that, for the next two weeks, because this caravan 05:26.466 --> 05:27.766 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% will -- it's a slow march. 05:27.766 --> 05:29.266 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% They're walking. 05:29.266 --> 05:31.300 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% They're still well over 1,000 miles away from the border. 05:31.300 --> 05:35.966 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The fact that these images will be aired on TV repeatedly for these next two weeks is 05:37.833 --> 05:41.633 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% perfect for him, because it shows this idea of an invasion, as he likes to call it. 05:41.633 --> 05:46.600 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% I have been watching congressional debates around the country in House districts in small 05:46.600 --> 05:51.600 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% - - in states like Idaho and Iowa and Minnesota and Pittsburgh in the Northeast. 05:53.900 --> 05:56.666 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% You hear this Honduran caravan coming up repeatedly, because it's something that Republicans realize 05:56.666 --> 05:58.500 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% is something that can energize their base. 05:58.500 --> 06:00.700 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% (CROSSTALK) 06:00.700 --> 06:02.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% AMNA NAWAZ: Alan Gomez of USA Today, who covers immigration there, we're going to have to 06:02.333 --> 06:03.500 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% leave it there. 06:03.500 --> 06:04.400 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Thank you very much for your time.