IMMIGRATION/MEXICO/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A long, grueling journey gave way to what could be a long, uncertain asylum process Sunday [4-29-18] as a caravan of immigrants finally reached the border between the United States and Mexico, setting up a dramatic moment and a test of President Trump’s anti-immigrant politics. More than 150 migrants, part of a caravan that once numbered about 1,200 and headed north in March from Mexico’s border with Guatemala, were prepared to seek asylum from United States immigration officials. But in what was likely to be one of many curves on the road, the migrants were told Sunday afternoon that the immigration officials could not process their claims, and they would have to spend the night on the Mexican side of the border. It was only the latest twist in an immigration drama that has played out in relative obscurity in recent years. Usually during the Easter season, immigrants have headed north together as a form of protection against the kidnappers, muggers and rapists who stalk the migrant trail, and to draw attention to their plight. But this year it has become a volatile flash point in the immigration debate ignited by Mr. Trump.”
–Kirk Semple and Miriam Jordan, “Migrant Caravan of Asylum Seekers Reaches U.S. Border,” The New York Times online, April 29, 2018