On October 13, a group of hundreds of people gathered together to flee their impoverished home country of Honduras in a caravan headed toward the United States, seeking a better life for themselves and their families. That caravan quickly swelled to approximately 7,000 Central American immigrants as it passed north through Guatemala. As of today, most of these men, women, and children have just entered Mexico, yet they remain more than a thousand miles south of the U.S. border. President Donald Trump has called the approaching group a “national emergency,” vowed to cut tens of millions of dollars in aid to three Central American countries, and will possibly cancel a recent trade deal with Mexico if the caravan isn’t stopped before it reaches the U.S. Below, photographs of the caravan from its first 10 days and some of the difficult paths taken by those involved.
Photos of the Central American Immigrant Caravan
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On October 17, 2018, a Honduran child, traveling with a caravan of Central American immigrants trying to reach the U.S., stands in front of Honduran police officers blocking the street in Agua Caliente, Honduras. #
Jorge Cabrera / Reuters -
Honduran immigrants cross the Lempa River on the border between Honduras and Guatemala, near Caliente, to enter Guatemala and join a caravan trying to reach the U.S on October 17, 2018. #
Jorge Cabrera / Reuters -
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Central American immigrants headed toward the United States get a free ride on the back of a trailer-truck flatbed as they make their way through Teculután, Guatemala, on October 17, 2018. #
Moises Castillo / AP -
A Honduran boy cries after his mother decided that he would not accompany her across the Goascorán River to illegally enter El Salvador from Honduras on October 18, 2018, since the river's current was too strong. #
Marvin Recinos / AFP / Getty -
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Thousands of Honduran immigrants gathered at the border with Mexico in Tecún Umán, Guatemala, rush toward and over fences on October 19, 2018. Immigrants broke down the gates at the border crossing and began streaming toward a bridge into Mexico. After arriving at the tall, yellow metal fence, some clambered atop it and on U.S.-donated military jeeps. Young men began violently tugging on the barrier and finally succeeded in tearing it down. #
Oliver de Ros / AP -
Honduran immigrants rush through the Guatemala-Mexico international-border bridge after tearing down its gate in Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas state, Mexico, on October 19, 2018. #
Pedro Pardo / AFP / Getty -
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Mexican federal police officers try to prevent Honduran immigrants from passing through the Guatemala-Mexico international-border bridge in Ciudad Hidalgo on October 19, 2018. #
Pedro Pardo / AFP / Getty -
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An aerial view of a Honduran immigrant caravan heading to the U.S. as it is stopped at a border barrier on the Guatemala-Mexico international bridge in Ciudad Hidalgo on October 19, 2018. #
Pedro Pardo / AFP / Getty -
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A Mexican federal police officer is pictured after being injured as Honduran immigrants rushed through the Guatemala-Mexico international-border bridge in Ciudad Hidalgo on October 19, 2018. #
Pedro Pardo / AFP / Getty -
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A Honduran immigrant waits with thousands of others stopped for more than a day on the bridge that connects Mexico and Guatemala in Tecún Umán, Guatemala, on October 20, 2018. #
Ueslei Marcelino / Reuters -
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A Honduran immigrant prepares to jump to the Suchiate River from the Guatemala-Mexico international-border bridge near Mexican federal police officers in Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, on October 20, 2018. #
Pedro Pardo / AFP / Getty -
Central American immigrants care for a woman on a raft after she climbed down from a bridge that connects Mexico and Guatemala to avoid the border checkpoint on October 20, 2018. #
Ueslei Marcelino / Reuters -
A Honduran immigrant waits to cross the border from Ciudad Tecún Umán, Guatemala, to Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, on October 21, 2018. Around 3,000 people were marching in the caravan on the Mexican side, according to an estimate from a federal police commander, but about a thousand migrants, including women and children, were still stranded on the border bridge hoping to enter Mexico legally via Guatemala. #
Orlando Sierra / AFP / Getty -
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A Honduran boy, part of a caravan of thousands of immigrants from Central America en route to the United States, plays with water fountains along the sidewalks of the Tapachula city center in Mexico on October 21, 2018. #
Ueslei Marcelino / Reuters -
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