JUDY WOODRUFF: They are
on a long and difficult
trek, thousands of
Central American migrants,

making their way, as a
group, to the United States.

The caravan, pausing for rest
today in Huixtla, Mexico, has
suddenly become the subject of

heated political rhetoric here.

But, first, a look at who's
traveling in the caravan,
and why, from Amna Nawaz.

AMNA NAWAZ: In the southern
Mexican city of Tapachula, more
than 7,000 migrants, mostly

Honduran, woke this morning
to continue the journey north.

ELSA ROMERO, Migrant (through
translator): When we heard the
caravan was coming, we joined.

This is an opportunity to
improve my family's life.

AMNA NAWAZ: Reuters reporter
Delphine Schrank is traveling
with the group, and describes

it as less of a caravan
and more of an exodus.

DELPHINE SCHRANK, Reuters:
It's a real mixture.

I mean, the majority are fairly
young, but it's a complete
mixture of men, women, lots

of children, people
of various ages.

AMNA NAWAZ: Caravans like this
have been organized for more
than a decade, a group migration

built on the principle of safety
in numbers, and helped along
the way by nonprofits like

Pueblo Sin Fronteras.

Earlier this spring, a
smaller caravan of around
1,500 left Southern Mexico.

Only a few hundred ultimately
sought asylum in the U.S.

Schrank says this group
came together much
more spontaneously,
and that the migrants

she's talked to are more
concerned with what they're
leaving than where they end up.

DELPHINE SCHRANK: Over and over,
I have heard from dozens of
migrants who say the same thing,

that no matter how cruel or
how difficult the welcome is
at the United States border,

the overwhelming need
they feel to flee a toxic
mixture of violence,
corruption, unemployment,

political failure, as they see
it, in Honduras really is what
weighs most upon their minds.

AMNA NAWAZ: President
Trump's escalating rhetoric,
like at this Texas rally
last night, has brought

this year's caravans to the
forefront of the immigration
debate, two weeks ahead
of midterm elections.

DONALD TRUMP, President of
the United States: You know,
what's happening right now, as a

large group of people --
they call it a caravan.

I think the Democrats had
something to do with it, and
now they're saying, I think we

made a big mistake, because
people are seeing how bad it is.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, the
migrants continue their journey,
mostly on foot, and now over

1,000 miles from the nearest
U.S. border crossing.

Picking it up from there to
discuss some of the rhetoric
and policy surrounding all of

this is Alan Gomez.

He's an immigration
reporter for USA Today.

Alan Gomez, welcome
back to the "NewsHour."

We heard the president
there in Texas last night.

But I want to ask you about
something he said earlier
today in the Oval Office.

He was asked about a
couple allegations he had
made about the caravan.

He has said there are members
of the gang MS-13 and, as
he put it, Middle Easterners

traveling in the caravan.

Here's what the president
said earlier today.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the
United States: Certainly, you
have people coming up through

the southern border from the
Middle East and other places
that are not appropriate for

our country, and I'm
not letting them in.

They're not coming in.

All right?

They're not coming in.

We're going to do
whatever we have to.

They're not coming in.

AMNA NAWAZ: Alan Gomez, what
do you make about what the
president is alleging there?

Is there any validity
to that claim?

ALAN GOMEZ, USA Today: Not
that his administration
can point to as of yet.

We have been asking the
Department of Homeland
Security ever since he
started making those

claims in a series of
tweets where the proof was
that there were members
of gangs, criminals,

as he refers to them generally
as Middle Easterners,
in the group, and they
haven't been able to

point to any examples or any
proof that anybody exists.

Instead, what they're doing is
they're falling back is, they're
falling back on percentages.

They have been passing out data
of the number of criminals,
gang members and people from

- - quote -- "special interest
countries" who have been caught
trying to cross the border

illegally over the past year.

When you put those numbers into
context, it shows that about
5 percent of people caught

along the border are
-- have some kind of
criminal background.

About 0.3 percent are
gang members, and about
0.8 percent come from
special interest countries

that include some Middle
Eastern countries.

But -- so, they're saying the
numbers indicate that there
has to be in that group.

And Vice President Pence made
that same claim that, if you
look at the size of this, there

just has to be some of
those folks in there.

In the last hour, we have
heard from the Department
of Homeland Security
that they are confirming

that there are some
criminals and some Middle
Easterners in there.

We followed up with them, but
haven't heard anything back.

AMNA NAWAZ: You know,
the president's focus on
this specific caravan has
elevated it substantially.

There's been caravans in the
past, one earlier this year.

You know, in the entire
immigration landscape,
which you cover so
deeply, why has this one

event caught the president's
attention so strongly?

ALAN GOMEZ: Timing.

We're just about two weeks away
from the election, and basically
this falls into his rhetoric

so perfectly.

He's basically taken a page
out of his 2016 presidential
campaign, and just riling up

on immigration right now.

This is an issue that the 2016
election proved is one that
will rile up his base, is one

that appeals to them, is
one that interests them,
is one that scares them.

And so the timing of this, the
idea that, for the next two
weeks, because this caravan

will -- it's a slow march.

They're walking.

They're still well over 1,000
miles away from the border.

The fact that these images
will be aired on TV repeatedly
for these next two weeks is

perfect for him, because it
shows this idea of an invasion,
as he likes to call it.

I have been watching
congressional debates
around the country in
House districts in small

- - in states like Idaho
and Iowa and Minnesota and
Pittsburgh in the Northeast.

You hear this Honduran
caravan coming up repeatedly,
because it's something
that Republicans realize

is something that can
energize their base.

(CROSSTALK)

AMNA NAWAZ: Alan Gomez of USA
Today, who covers immigration
there, we're going to have to

leave it there.

Thank you very
much for your time.