IWF Visiting Fellow Sara Carter was recently embedded near the Guatamelan and Honduran borders, reporting on the migrant caravan heading towards the United States. Her reporting showcases a side of the group — comprised of several thousand people — not being revealed by the mainstream media.
After spending several days interviewing travelers and witnessing the walk, Carter reported that the majority of those on the trek were men. She has noted that there are women and children in the front of the group, and it appeared that was possibly to encourage a visual narrative that this caravan was full of families.
"The majority of migrants were men, maybe 1200 men and a few hundred women and children," said Carter. "This was very highly organized and they put women and children at the front of the line for the news cameras…when I walked to the back, it was columns of men and they had a Honduran flag."
Carter noted that many answered her questions with a clearly rehearsed response and many admitted it was organized, not organic or spontaneous. While our hearts go out to those who long to live in the United States and pursue the American Dream, we still have a responsibility to secure our borders and police illegal immigration, which is a threat to national security.
Unfortunately, the United States still hasn't devised a viable, long-term solution to immigration issues — and we need to repair this broken system sooner rather than later. The American people care about immigrants and want to see a fair, safe and compassionate process for everyone involved.
Keep an eye on Carter's reporting for the latest on the caravan.