President Donald Trump stops to talk to members of the media before walking across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 22, 2018, to board Marine One helicopter for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to Houston. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared Monday the U.S. will begin cutting aid to three Central American countries he accused of failing to stop thousands of migrants heading for the U.S. border. But across his administration there was no indication of any action in response to what he tweeted was a “National Emergy.” 
 
 For hours on Monday, White House officials were unable to provide an explanation for the president’s threats, which reflected both his apparent frustration with the migrant caravan and his determination to transform it into Republican election gains. Federal agencies said they’d received no guidance on the president’s declaration, issued as he attempts to make illegal immigration a focus of next month’s midterm elections. 
 
 If Trump should follow through with his threat to end or greatly reduce U.S. aid, that could worsen the poverty and violence that are a root cause of the migration he has been railing against, critics said. 
 
 Trump tweeted, “Sadly, it looks like Mexico’s Police and Military are unable to stop the Caravan heading to the Southern Border of the United States.” He added without evidence that “criminals and unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in.” 
 
 “I have alerted Border Patrol and Military that this is a National Emergy,” he wrote. “Must change laws!” 
 
 Associated Press journalists traveling with the caravan for more than a week have spoken with Hondurans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans but have not met any of the “Middle Easterners” that Trump claimed had “mixed in” with the Central American migrants. It was clear, though, that more migrants were continuing to join the caravan. 
 
 Trump’s tweets marked the latest escalation of his efforts to thrust immigration politics into the national conversation in the closing weeks of the congressional elections. He and his senior aides have long believed the issue — which was a centerpiece of his winning presidential campaign — is key to revving up his base and motivating GOP voters to turn out in November. 
 
 “Blame the Democrats,” he wrote. “Remember the midterms.” 
 
 At a campaign rally in Houston on Monday night, he falsely accused Democrats of “encouraging millions of illegal aliens to break our laws, violate our borders and overwhelm our nation.” 
 
 Trump for months has sought to use foreign aid as a cudgel more broadly, threatening to withhold humanitarian and other aid from “enemies of America” and using it to pressure foreign governments to bend to his will. On Monday, he said he would be making good on his threat. 
 
 “Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were not able to do the job of stopping people from leaving their country and coming illegally to the U.S. We will now begin cutting off, or substantially reducing, the massive foreign aid routinely given to them,” he wrote. 
 
 He added later at the White House: “We have been giving so much money to so many different countries for so long that it’s not fair and it’s not good. And then when we ask them to keep their people in their country, they’re unable to do it.” 
 
 However, it was unclear whether the president’s tweets had any policy implications. 
 
 A Pentagon spokesman, Army Lt. Col. Jamie Davis, said the Pentagon had received no new orders to provide troops for border security. And a State Department official said the agency had not been given any instructions on eliminating or reducing aid to Central American countries. 
 
 Last April, Defense Secretary James Mattis authorized up to 4,000 members of the National Guard to help the Department of Homeland Security with southern border security, and approximately 2,100 were sent under the control of border state governors. That number, Davis said, has not changed. 
 
 The Pentagon also said it was going ahead with plans to include Honduras among the South American nations that will be visited this fall by the USNS Comfort, a hospital ship that Mattis has dispatched to help relieve stress on medical care systems as a result of refugee flows from Venezuela. The Comfort began treating patients in Ecuador on Monday and is scheduled to make stops in Peru, Colombia and Honduras, according to Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning. 
 
 “The deployment reflects the United States’ enduring promise of friendship, partnership and solidarity with the Americas,” Manning said. 
 
 Asked what the administration was doing to operationalize the president’s tweet, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Monday evening that “we’re continuing to look at all options on the table.” 
 
 “The president wants to make sure we’re doing everything we can to secure and protect our borders and that’s exactly what he’s been talking about,” she said. 
 
 It is Congress, not the president, that appropriates aid money. The White House would have to notify Congress if it wanted to cut or reallocate aid, which could delay or complicate the process. 
 
 Rep. Eliot Engel, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Monday that “my colleagues and I will not stand idly by as this administration ignores congressional intent.” 
 
 The three countries received about $500 million from the U.S. in fiscal year 2017. That money funds programs that promote economic development and education, as well as supporting democracy and human rights, among other issues. It was not immediately clear how much money Trump now hopes to cut, though the administration already had been pushing to reduce the government’s global aid and foreign operations budget by about 30 percent for fiscal 2019 that began Oct 1. 
 
 Paul O’Brien, the vice president for policy and advocacy at Oxfam America, said that any attempts to decrease aid to the Central American countries would be “devastating” since the U.S. is a key investor in the region, funding programs on issues ranging from workforce development to reducing violence and improving human rights. In addition, other investors look to the U.S. as a guide. 
 
 “If you take that money away or you make it unpredictable, you’re actually going to foster the very conditions that are driving people toward migration,” said O’Brien, who accused Trump of “essentially seeking to use migrants as a political chip.” 
 
 Last month, Vice President Mike Pence said that over the last year alone more than 225,000 people from the three Central American countries had attempted to illegally enter the United States, accounting for more than half of those apprehended at the southern border. 
 
 Cutting aid could also undermine what the Trump administration has identified as a key foreign policy goal: challenging China’s emergence as a strategic rival in the region. 
 
 The governments of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador did not immediately respond to Trump’s threat. Jimmy Morales, president of Guatemala, planned to travel to Tecun Uman on his country’s border with Mexico late Monday. 
 
 On a three-day campaign swing to Western states last week, Trump raised alarm over thousands of migrants traveling through Mexico to the U.S. and threatened to seal off the U.S.-Mexico border if they weren’t stopped. 
 
 As the migrants continued their northward march about 900 miles (1,450 kilometers) from the U.S. border, Trump blamed Democrats for their movement — despite the fact that Republicans currently control the White House, the House and Senate. 
 
 “Every time you see a Caravan, or people illegally coming, or attempting to come, into our Country illegally, think of and blame the Democrats for not giving us the votes to change our pathetic Immigration Laws!” he wrote. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Robert Burns, Matthew Pennington and Matthew Lee contributed to this report. ||||| The United Nations estimates the huge caravan currently making its way from Honduras toward the U.S.-Mexico border, is about 7,200 people strong. It's expected that, as seen with the last caravan earlier this year, many people may leave the group, or choose to stay in Mexico, before they get to the border. 
 
 The group has been getting a lot of attention, especially from Trump, leading some to believe this is a new phenomenon. 
 
 It's not. 
 
 When did these caravans begin? 
 
 The organization Pueblo Sin Fronteras (which means People Without Borders) has been assisting groups of Central American refugees and migrants for about 15 years, helping them to travel together to seek asylum in either Mexico or the United States. Pueblo Sin Fronteras describes itself as "a collective of friends" which provides "humanitarian aid and legal advice to refugees and migrants." 
 
 The annual caravan normally sets off during Holy Week. People move in larger groups as a form of security. One of the organization's stated goals is to protect the migrants from gangs, human traffickers, or corrupt law enforcement officials, who can more easily target vulnerable individuals travelling in small groups or alone. 
 
 The 2018 caravans 
 
 2018 has seen two large Central American caravans, and more recently, the emergence of a third smaller one. 
 
 The first left Tapachula, Mexico on March 25 (Palm Sunday) and reached Tijuana, Mexico, just south of the border in late April. Though it reportedly numbered more than 1,000 at one point, there were about 345 people in the group when it arrived in Tijuana. According to Pueblo Sin Fronteras at the time, about 200 planned to make asylum requests to the United States. 
 
 The large caravan currently making its way through Mexico left San Pedro Sula, Honduras on Oct. 12. In 2012, the Mexican think-tank Citizens' Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice put San Pedro Sula at the top of its rankings of the world's 10 deadliest cities, with 159 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2011. About 7,200 people are part of this caravan. 
 
 On Tuesday, a migrant shelter in Guatemala City said another, smaller caravan of about 1,000 people had formed and was also moving north from Honduras, having made it into Guatemala. 
 
 The larger caravan currently making its way north numbers in the thousands. (Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters) 
 
 Why so much attention this year? 
 
 Donald Trump made immigration a central plank of his 2016 election campaign, vowing, among other things, to build a wall between Mexico and the U.S. Shortly after some U.S. media began reporting about the March 2018 caravan, notably including Fox News, Trump started to tweet about the asylum-seekers. 
 
 Mexico is doing very little, if not NOTHING, at stopping people from flowing into Mexico through their Southern Border, and then into the U.S. They laugh at our dumb immigration laws. They must stop the big drug and people flows, or I will stop their cash cow, NAFTA. NEED WALL! —@realDonaldTrump 
 
 He threatened to cut off aid to the countries from which the migrants were coming, and once that final group of about 200-345 did make it to Tijuana, he tweeted that they would not be let in. 
 
 Despite the Democrat inspired laws on Sanctuary Cities and the Border being so bad and one sided, I have instructed the Secretary of Homeland Security not to let these large Caravans of people into our Country. It is a disgrace. We are the only Country in the World so naive! WALL —@realDonaldTrump 
 
 In recent days, the Mexican government, the group that organizes the caravans, and Trump Administration critics have speculated that Trump is paying extra attention to the current caravan — and using it to drum up anti-immigration sentiment — because of the Nov. 6 midterms. 
 
 Who makes up the caravans? 
 
 According to reporters who have joined the caravans to cover their story, they are made up of families; individual women or men travelling alone or with children; and unaccompanied minors. Though they may set off from one country, they are often joined along the way by migrants from neighbouring countries. The stated goal of many is to get away from the violence in their home country and/or to find a job. 
 
 "We only want to work," Ana Luisa España told AP journalists travelling with the current caravan. "And if a job turns up in Mexico, I would do it. We would do anything, except bad things." 
 
 The caravans include families, single parents with young children, and unaccompanied minors. (Adrees Latif/Reuters) 
 
 "We are all people from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua," Denis Omar Contreras said. 
 
 Despite an assertion from Trump Monday that it is harbouring Middle Easterners trying to sneak into the U.S., the reporters say they have only encountered Hondurans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans. 
 
 How have other governments reacted? 
 
 By the time Trump began his tirade against Honduras for letting the caravan leave the country, it was already well into Guatemala. Still, the Honduran government deployed security forces to a main border point to try to prevent any more Hondurans from joining it. 
 
 The Guatemalan government detained a former Honduran lawmaker whom it said was helping to organize the caravan. Officials said he "did not comply with Guatemalan immigration rules" and would be deported back to Honduras. 
 
 Mexico has deployed about 700 National Police to the country's southern border, and has issued warnings stating that the migrants should not try to enter the country illegally. 
 
 Mexican officials are refusing to yield to demands from the caravan that they be allowed to enter the country en masse but are handing out numbers to those waiting to cross and allow them to enter in small groups. (Oliver de Ros/Associated Press) 
 
 Are the caravans illegal? 
 
 It is not illegal for anyone to seek asylum in another country. Asylum may be granted to any individual who meets the international definition of "refugee." 
 
 The United Nations 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol define a refugee as a person who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her home country, and who cannot obtain protection in that country, due to past persecution or a well-founded fear of being persecuted in the future "on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion." 
 
 The principles of the Protocol, and thereby the Convention, were integrated into the U.S. Refugee Act of 1980. 
 
 What will happen to asylum-seekers at U.S. border? 
 
 According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, upon arrival at the border, the caravan asylum-seekers would surrender themselves to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency. Providing they have not had a previous asylum claim rejected by the U.S., they are eligible to make an affirmative asylum request. The process can take months or even years. 
 
 According to a 2017 Reuters analysis of data from the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the unit of the U.S. Justice Department which oversees immigration courts, where an asylum seeker is from, and in what state he or she makes a claim, can greatly influence an immigration judge's decision. ||||| President Trump Donald John TrumpGiuliani says he confirmed Trump ‘never’ spoke with Cohen about congressional testimony Russian pop star linked to Trump Tower meeting cancels US tour Harris after announcing presidential run says her 'highest priority' is protecting Mueller probe MORE on Monday said that the U.S. will begin to cut off or reduce aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador as citizens of those countries flee for the U.S. as part of a so-called caravan of migrants. 
 
 In a trio of tweets, the president escalated his rhetoric surrounding the group of migrants, declaring a national emergency as they approach the border and claiming that "unknown Middle Easterners" had joined the group. 
 
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 Trump, in the tweets, did not offer any evidence for the charge that people from the Middle East were among those crossing the border. 
 
 "Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were not able to do the job of stopping people from leaving their country and coming illegally to the U.S. We will now begin cutting off, or substantially reducing, the massive foreign aid routinely given to them," Trump wrote in a tweet. 
 
 "Sadly, it looks like Mexico’s Police and Military are unable to stop the Caravan heading to the Southern Border of the United States. Criminals and unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in. I have alerted Border Patrol and Military that this is a National [Emergency]. Must change laws!" 
 
 Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were not able to do the job of stopping people from leaving their country and coming illegally to the U.S. We will now begin cutting off, or substantially reducing, the massive foreign aid routinely given to them. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2018 
 
 Sadly, it looks like Mexico’s Police and Military are unable to stop the Caravan heading to the Southern Border of the United States. Criminals and unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in. I have alerted Border Patrol and Military that this is a National Emergy. Must change laws! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2018 
 
 Trump had previously threatened to cut off aid to those countries if they did not act to stop their citizens from fleeing. It's unclear if Trump will take unilateral action to reduce foreign aid, as Congress is not scheduled to return to Washington until after the midterm elections. 
 
 Experts have noted that human rights laws restrict actions a government can take to prevent its citizens from leaving its borders. 
 
 The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill about plans to cut foreign aid or to declare a national emergency. 
 
 Trump's suggestion that Middle Easterners had joined the group came shortly after a guest on "Fox & Friends" raised the specter of ISIS fighters embedding themselves in the group. The guest, Peter Hegseth, cited quotes attributed to Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales but acknowledged the claims have not been verified. 
 
 The president is known to watch the show regularly and often comment about segments on Twitter. 
 
 Trump has for days characterized the caravan as a horde of criminals in cahoots with the Democrats while providing no evidence for his claims. 
 
 "Every time you see a Caravan, or people illegally coming, or attempting to come, into our Country illegally, think of and blame the Democrats for not giving us the votes to change our pathetic Immigration Laws! Remember the Midterms! So unfair to those who come in legally," Trump tweeted Monday. 
 
 Every time you see a Caravan, or people illegally coming, or attempting to come, into our Country illegally, think of and blame the Democrats for not giving us the votes to change our pathetic Immigration Laws! Remember the Midterms! So unfair to those who come in legally. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 22, 2018 
 
 The caravan of thousands crossed into Mexico over the weekend, continuing their journey toward the U.S. border in search of asylum. 
 
 The group swelled to close to 5,000, The Associated Press reported, after an initial group of 2,000 crossed the Guatemala-Mexico border rather than waiting for asylum processing there. 
 
 The president has pointed to the caravan to stoke fear of an influx of undocumented immigrants and to blame Democrats for failing to pass stronger immigration laws, despite Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress. 
 
 Trump last week warned that he may take military action to stop immigrants from crossing the southern border if Mexico does not take action to stop the "onslaught." 
 
 A series of bipartisan immigration bills failed to garner enough votes in the Senate earlier this year, including one bill backed by the White House.
– President Trump said Thursday that he's ready to send the US military to the border to keep a caravan of mostly Honduran migrants out. In a series of tweets, Trump also reiterated threats to withhold financial aid to Central American nations, with particular attention to Mexico. "I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught — and if unable to do so I will call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!" the president wrote. He said border security surpassed any other issue in importance for him, including trade and the newly reformulated NAFTA pact known as USMCA. Trump also asserted that the caravan of immigrants includes "MANY CRIMINALS." The Washington Post suggests that Trump is especially irked because more immigrant parents than ever are reaching the border with children since the US stopped its policy of family separations over the summer. Border Patrol arrested nearly 17,000 family members in September, a record number that's up 80% from July. Trump has previously said he wants to beef up the military's presence along the border until a wall is in place, and he again faulted Democrats on the issue of immigration. "All Democrats fault for weak laws!" he wrote. But comments this week from Nancy Pelosi suggest her party won't be budging on the solution he wants most. "It happens to be like a manhood issue for the president, building a wall, and I'm not interested in that,” she said, per Roll Call.