US bound migrants stampede Mexico-Guatemala border

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - Thousands of migrants headed for the United States reached the Mexico-Guatemala border Friday, while some stormed the fence despite U.S. President Donald Trump's threats of military action.

A caravan of migrants began their journey to reach the U.S. by foot in Honduras -- an estimated 1,553 miles (2,500 kilometers).

On Thursday, the group, which reportedly grew to 4,000 people in Guatemala, was headed to the southern border of Mexico, with some already at the border.

The migrants arrived at the border between Mexico and Guatemala, waving Honduran and Guatemalan flags and demanded to be let into the country to reach the U.S.

"We are not smugglers, we are immigrants," the crowd chanted in front of a yellow fence.

Once some of the migrants climbed the fence, they began to tear it down allowing the huge crowd to flood passed the border gate.

In a joint statement, Mexico’s interior and foreign relations ministries reiterated the migrants would not be allowed to enter the country without proper documentation.

On Thursday, Trump called the caravan an "assault on our country" and demanded Mexico "stop this onslaught."

Trump also threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border.

Mexican authorities have deployed 500 additional federal police to its border with Guatemala as the migrants make their way north toward the U.S., NBC News reported.

Trump continued to fume at Democrats for what he called the U.S.'s "weak laws" on immigration as the Nov. 6 midterm elections near.

A previous caravan of 1,000 migrants headed to the U.S. in April had been granted temporary visas to cross Mexico, angering Trump, who called on state governors to deploy the National Guard.