Trump ‘preparing executive order’ to ban all Central American migrants from US

President Trump is preparing an executive order to ban the caravan of Central American migrants from entering the United States, sources familiar with the plan have revealed.

Trump’s plan would also block the migrants – who are still nearly a month away from reaching the border – from being able to seek asylum, according to Politico.  

News of the executive action broke just hours after Trump took to Twitter to tell the caravan to ‘turn around’ because border patrol agents would block them.  

Many of the thousands who are in the caravan are women and young children seeking refuge from violence in Honduras.  

Trump is preparing an executive order to ban the Central American migrants currently traveling in a caravan from entering the United States, sources familiar with the plan revealed

News of the executive action broke just hours after Trump took to Twitter to tell the caravan to 'turn around' because border patrol agents would block them

News of the executive action broke just hours after Trump took to Twitter to tell the caravan to ‘turn around’ because border patrol agents would block them

American law permits foreigners who are fleeing persecution in their native countries to apply for asylum on US soil. The executive order would suspend this statue for all Central Americans as a matter of ‘national security’.  

A DHS official that had been briefed on the potential executive order said it could still be abandoned or adjusted before the administration makes it official. 

Another administration official told the Washington Post that ‘everything is on the table’.

Sources say the executive order – much like Trump’s Muslim ban – would rely on the law that allows a president to suspend entry of foreigners seen as ‘detrimental to the interests of the United States’.

But while the Supreme Court eventually upheld a version of Trump’s travel ban, the DHS official believes the caravan would be seen in a different light.

‘I think the courts respected a thorough national security review that was undertaken,’ they told Politico. 

‘Here you’ve got something that appears to be completely political and focused on a caravan of women and children.’  

Many have accused Trump of pushing his dialogue about the caravan in recent weeks as a way to rile up his base before the upcoming midterm elections.  

The caravan still remains 1,000 miles south of the border and it is estimated it would take migrants another 25 days just to reach the US.

And the executive action, if it goes forward, is expected to be challenged immediately in US courts – much as Trump’s Muslim travel ban was.

Many of the thousands who are in the caravan are women and young children seeking refuge from violence in Honduras. Pictured are migrants in the caravan on their way to Pijijiapan, Mexico on Thursday 

Many of the thousands who are in the caravan are women and young children seeking refuge from violence in Honduras. Pictured are migrants in the caravan on their way to Pijijiapan, Mexico on Thursday 

Many have accused Trump of pushing his dialogue about the caravan in recent weeks as a way to rile up his base before the upcoming midterm elections. Pictured is a Honduran child en route Mapastepec to Pijijiapan on Thursday

Many have accused Trump of pushing his dialogue about the caravan in recent weeks as a way to rile up his base before the upcoming midterm elections. Pictured is a Honduran child en route Mapastepec to Pijijiapan on Thursday

Trump claimed on Thursday that asylum seekers would be immediately and unequivocally denied at the border.

‘To those in the Caravan, turnaround, we are not letting people into the United States illegally,’ he wrote. 

‘Go back to your Country and if you want, apply for citizenship like millions of others are doing!’ 

The tweet followed a report that the Pentagon is finalizing a deployment to the border of 1,000 troops to assist border agents with the expected influx of migrants.

Trump has said repeatedly that he was mobilizing the military, and not the National Guard, in anticipation of the caravan, even though the deployment as he’s described it would violate the Posse Comitatus Act.

Around 2,000 members of the National Guard have already been deployed to the border since April.  

Trump issued his latest declaration about the caravan on Thursday afternoon just before a call with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

He says they spoke about the new leader’s hard-line efforts to curb illegal immigration.

‘I agree with their stance 100%, and the United States is likewise taking a very hard line on illegal immigration,’ Trump tweeted. ‘The Prime Minister is working very hard on the economy of Italy – he will be successful!’

Trump issued his latest declaration about the caravan on Thursday afternoon just before a call with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte

Trump issued his latest declaration about the caravan on Thursday afternoon just before a call with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte

He says they spoke about the new leader's hard-line efforts to curb illegal immigration

He says they spoke about the new leader’s hard-line efforts to curb illegal immigration

The Italian government is looking to drive out half a million unlawful migrants.

President Donald Trump has pointed to Europe twice this week as he has defended his immigration tactics that he says are necessary to keep criminals and Middle Easterners from entering the country illegally as part of the caravan.

‘For those who want and advocate for illegal immigration, just take a good look at what has happened to Europe over the last 5 years. A total mess! They only wish they had that decision to make over again,’ he on Wednesday said.

Trump has long claimed that terrorism on the continent is directly related to the European Union’s free flow of people and and furthered by policies in Germany and other nations where migrants are welcomed with open arms.

‘We are a great Sovereign Nation. We have Strong Borders and will never accept people coming into our Country illegally!’ he declared on Wednesday, refusing to back down.

At a rally on Wednesday evening, the president tamped down the rhetoric in response to a serious of bombs that were sent to his political opponents.

But he continued to claim that Democrats were encouraging the caravan and want to open the illegal immigration floodgates.

‘As we speak, the Democrat Party is openly encouraging caravan after caravan of illegal aliens to violate our laws and to break into our country,’ Trump said of the border ‘crisis’ that has consumed his attention.

President Trump invoked Europe twice this week while defending his hardline immigration tactics

President Trump invoked Europe twice this week while defending his hardline immigration tactics

Trump also claimed this week that he's keeping criminals and Middle Easterners from entering the country illegally as part of a caravan

Trump also claimed this week that he’s keeping criminals and Middle Easterners from entering the country illegally as part of a caravan

Trump has made immigration his No. 1 campaign issue and deployed new rhetoric this week that there are 'tough criminal elements' in a caravan of Honduran migrants headed to the United States by way of Mexico

Trump has made immigration his No. 1 campaign issue and deployed new rhetoric this week that there are ‘tough criminal elements’ in a caravan of Honduran migrants headed to the United States by way of Mexico

He also claimed there 'could very well could be' Middle Easterners mixed in with the masses in a not-so-subtle suggestion that the group seeking refuge in the United States could be a Trojan Horse

He also claimed there ‘could very well could be’ Middle Easterners mixed in with the masses in a not-so-subtle suggestion that the group seeking refuge in the United States could be a Trojan Horse

Trump has made immigration his No. 1 campaign issue and deployed new rhetoric this week that there are ‘tough criminal elements’ in a caravan of Honduran migrants headed to the United States by way of Mexico.

He also claimed there ‘could very well could be’ Middle Easterners mixed in with the masses in a not-so-subtle suggestion that the group seeking refuge in the United States could be a Trojan Horse.

‘There’s no proof of anything, there’s no proof of anything but they very well could be,’ Trump said of his claim that Middle Easterners could have be hiding among the migrants at a bill signing on Tuesday in the Oval Office.

He also called forward Vice President Mike Pence to talk about the caravan, who made unverified allegations that the migrants were formed by leftist groups and paid for by the government of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday admitted he has no proof there are Middle Easterners in the caravan of migrants headed to the Unites States but said there 'could very well could be.' 

President Donald Trump on Tuesday admitted he has no proof there are Middle Easterners in the caravan of migrants headed to the Unites States but said there ‘could very well could be.’ 

Vice President Mike Pence made the unverified allegation the migrants were formed by leftist groups and paid for by the government of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro

Vice President Mike Pence made the unverified allegation the migrants were formed by leftist groups and paid for by the government of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro

‘At the president’s direction, I spoke to President Hernández of Honduras. He told me that the caravan that is now making its way through Mexico, headed for the southern border was organized by leftist organizations and financed by Venezuela,’ Pence said.

Trump interrupted him to add the Democrats were also to blame, an allegation he first made at his rally in Houston on Monday night. 

‘And the Democrats maybe? And the Democrats,’ Trump said as some of the aides, staff, and lawmakers with him in the Oval Office for the bill signing laughed.

‘Well,’ Pence began but before he could finish a reporter asked Trump what proof he had Democrats were behind the mass migration. 

‘You know what?,’ Trump responded, ‘You’re going to find out. And we’re going to see. Maybe they made a bad mistake, too. We’re going to find out about that.’  

Trump also argued that based on the size of the crowd of migrants, there was a ‘very good chance’ some Middle Easterner people were in it. 

‘I think there’s a very good chance, honestly, that you have people in there. I also think there is a very good chance that over a course of a period of time you have, or they don’t necessarily have to be in that group. But certainly you have people coming up through the southern border, from the Middle East and other places that are not appropriate for our country. And I’m not letting them in. They’re not coming in. All right? They’re not coming in. We’re going to do whatever we have to,’ he said. 

Trump has made the migrant caravan an election issue in the midterms 

Trump has made the migrant caravan an election issue in the midterms 

Vice President Mike Pence defended President Donald Trump's claim there are Middle Easterners in the caravan of migrants headed to the United States from Central America, saying it's 'inconceivable' there wouldn't be

Vice President Mike Pence defended President Donald Trump’s claim there are Middle Easterners in the caravan of migrants headed to the United States from Central America, saying it’s ‘inconceivable’ there wouldn’t be

Trump turned the conversation back over to Pence, who earlier in the day had defended Trump’s claim there are Middle Easterners in the caravan of migrants headed to the United States from Central America, saying it’s ‘inconceivable’ there wouldn’t be.

Pence repeated his inconceivable line in the Oval Office.

‘The United States of America intervenes and prevents ten terrorists or suspected terrorists from coming into our country every day. So it is inconceivable that there would not be individuals from the Middle East as a part of this growing caravan,’ the vice president said.

He made a similar remark at an event held by the Washington Post earlier in the day:   ‘It’s inconceivable that there are not people of Middle Eastern descent in a crowd of more than 7,000 people advancing toward our border.’ 

The group of migrants, which started in Honduras and has grown on its journey though Central America and into Mexico, is continuing their march with the United Nations estimating there are some 7,200 people in the crowd

The group of migrants, which started in Honduras and has grown on its journey though Central America and into Mexico, is continuing their march with the United Nations estimating there are some 7,200 people in the crowd

I dare you: President Donald Trump challenged a TV reporter on Monday to take his camera crew into the migrant caravan in southern Mexico and declared that they would find drug cartel gangsters and Middle Easterners mixed in with asylum-seekers from Central America

I dare you: President Donald Trump challenged a TV reporter on Monday to take his camera crew into the migrant caravan in southern Mexico and declared that they would find drug cartel gangsters and Middle Easterners mixed in with asylum-seekers from Central America

But the statistic the vice president used – claiming 10 suspects terrorists are apprehended per day – has come under doubt, with fact checkers and government reports saying that number applies to incidents at all US points of entry and not just the border with Mexico.  

Pence made a similar claim in February about how many suspected terrorists were being nabbed at the US-Mexico border, which he claimed was seven per day.

The fact-checking website Politifact researched his assertion and rated it a ‘Pants on Fire’ – their worst rating. 

‘Nationally in 2017, the federal government says, Homeland Security stopped 2,554 individuals on its terrorist watch list from entering the country, which breaks out to seven people a day. Most of those individuals tried to enter by air, the government says,’ the website noted. 

In June, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen defined the 10 number even further, saying they were people blocked from entering the United States, indicating it included individuals on the no-fly list and not merely those suspected of being a terrorist.

‘The result is that we are identifying and stopping terror suspects who would otherwise have gone undetected. In fact, on average, my Department now blocks 10 known or suspected terrorists a day from traveling to or attempting to enter the United States,’ she said.

In a statement to The Post, Pence spokeswoman Alyssa Farah noted the number the vice president cited applies to all US points of entry.

‘In 2017 alone the US apprehended on average between 10 suspected terrorists a day attempting to enter the country illegally. And those are just the ones that we catch. It’s inconceivable that this caravan – which is being broadcast around the globe – hasn’t already been infiltrated by individuals with ties to extremism,’ she said.

Meanwhile, The Washington Post’s fact checker found that Trump’s own State Department released a report in July 2017 that said there was ‘no credible information that any member of a terrorist group has traveled through Mexico to gain access to the United States.’  

The 10 terrorists a day stat has been used before by the White House to back up the president’s claim.

On Monday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders was asked if President Trump had ‘credible evidence’ there were Middle Easterners in the caravan.

Honduran migrants taking part in a new caravan heading to the US, arrive to Chiquimula, Guatemala, on October 22

Honduran migrants taking part in a new caravan heading to the US, arrive to Chiquimula, Guatemala, on October 22

Honduran migrants taking part in a caravan heading to the U.S., rest at the main square in Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico, on October 21, 2018

Honduran migrants taking part in a caravan heading to the U.S., rest at the main square in Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico, on October 21, 2018

She used the 10-terrorists a day number but seemed to apply it to all points of entry in the U.S.  

‘Absolutely and we know this is a continual problem. It’s not just in this. We have 10 individuals suspected or known to be terrorists trying to enter our country every day. This is a problem the president has been talking about a long time,’ she said to reporters outside the White House.

The group of migrants, which started in Honduras and has grown on its journey though Central America and into Mexico, is continuing their march with the United Nations estimating there are some 7,200 people in the crowd.  

A team of AP journalists traveling with the caravan for more than a week has spoken with Hondurans, Guatemalans and Salvadorans, but has not met any Middle Easterners.  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk