On the Move

A caravan × caravan KIRSTEN BALTAZAR/EYEEM—GETTY IMAGES a group of people traveling together on a long journey (noun) The caravan traveled around 20 miles each day. of migrants from Central America set out from Honduras on October 13 with about 200 people. By October 22, it had reached Mexico, and the number of migrants had swelled to an estimated 7,000. The group is traveling on foot, and is heading for the United States border.

The migrants say they are fleeing violence, poverty, and corruption in their home countries. By traveling as a group, they are hoping for safety in numbers. Edwin Rosas, a 31-year-old builder from Honduras, is part of the caravan. “We are going to stay together,” he told TIME. “We won’t be broken.”

The caravan was organized by activists on social media. The journey from Honduras to the U.S. is more than 2,000 miles.

Mexican president-elect Andrés Manuel LÓpez Obrador says the U.S., Mexico, and Canada should work together to improve living conditions for people in Central America and southern Mexico. “In this way, we confront the phenomenon × phenomenon WWW.SIERRALARA.COM/GETTY IMAGES an observable fact or event (noun) Sunset is a beautiful phenomenon that happens every day. of migration,” he said. “Because he who leaves his town does not leave for pleasure but out of necessity.”

But President Donald Trump is pushing Mexican authorities to stop the caravan before it reaches the U.S.-Mexico border. He wrote on Twitter that the U.S. will begin “cutting off, or substantially reducing,” aid to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. He says these countries should have done more to stop the migrants from leaving for the U.S.