US President Donald Trump in the White House. Photos / AP
US President Donald Trump in the White House. Photos / AP
US President Donald Trump today acknowledged that he has no proof that people of Middle Eastern descent have joined a large migrant caravan moving toward the US-Mexico border, tempering a claim he has made in recent days.
"There's no proof of anything. But there could very well be," Trump said in remarks in the Oval Office.
His remarks appeared to be at odds with his own Department of Homeland Security, which tweeted today that the caravan includes people from all over the world.
"Citizens of countries outside Central America, including countries in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and elsewhere are currently travelling through Mexico toward the US," DHS spokesman Tyler Houlton said in a tweet.
Houlton also tweeted that the department has confirmed that some migrants who are part of the caravan "are gang members or have significant criminal histories."
In the Oval Office, the President maintained that he has "very good information" from Border Control and other officials that they've "intercepted many people from the Middle East" - both "good ones and bad ones" - in recent years.
"They say it happens all the time from the Middle East," Trump said.
His remarks came after Vice-President Mike Pence said earlier that it is "inconceivable" that people from the Middle Eastern have not joined the caravan.
Trump first claimed in a tweet yesterday that "Criminals and unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in" the caravan, which the President has pointed to repeatedly as he seeks to elevate immigration as an issue ahead of the November 7 NZT Midterm elections.
When asked for evidence of his claim later yesterday, Trump told a television reporter to "take your camera, go in the middle and search" the caravan, which originated in Honduras and includes mostly mothers and their children, based on what reporters have observed.
Asked while sitting for an interview at a Washington Post event if he has evidence, Pence sought to back up his boss.
Candles arranged in the shape of a cross serve as a simple memorial for a migrant man who died the day before on the caravan after he fell from the back of a vehicle.
"It's inconceivable that there are not people of Middle Eastern descent in a crowd of more than 7000 people advancing toward our border," the Vice-President said, asserting "there are statistics on this."
"In the last fiscal year, we apprehended more than 10 terrorists or suspected terrorists per day at our southern border from countries that are referred to in the lexicon as 'other than Mexico.' That means from the Middle East region," Pence said.
He seemed to be referencing statistics shared by the Department of Homeland Security when asked by reporters for evidence to support Trump's claim.
Those statistics, from thel 2017 financial year, were not specific to the US-Mexico border and offer no proof that anyone in the current caravan is from the Middle East or a terrorist.
DHS also told reporters yesterday that Customs and Border Patrol agents had in the 2018 financial year "apprehended 17,256 criminals, 1019 gang members, and 3028 special interest aliens from countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Somalia." None of the countries mentioned are in the Middle East.
In a statement after his remarks, a Pence spokeswoman made no mention of terrorists being stopped at the US-Mexico border.
"In 2017 alone the US apprehended on average between 10 suspected terrorists a day attempting to enter the country illegally," she said. "And those are just the ones we catch. It's inconceivable that this caravan - which is being broadcast around the globe - hasn't already been infiltrated with ties to extremism."
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also spoke about the caravan at a State Department news conference today, arguing that it presents a national security risk to the United States.
"There is no proper accounting of who these individuals in the caravan are," Pompeo said, adding that the caravan "will not cross our southern border illegally under any circumstances."
During his remarks, Pence also repeated Trump's vow to stop the caravan before it reaches the US border and blamed Democrats for the country's immigration challenges.
"We're going to do everything in our power to keep this caravan from coming north and violating our border," Pence said.
In the Oval Office, Pence said that the president of Honduras told him that the caravan was organised by leftist groups and financed in part by Venezuela.
"And the Democrats? And the Democrats?" Trump asked, prompting laughter from those gathered in the office. The President has sought to tie the caravan to Democrats in his recent campaign-trail remarks.
