TO THE BORDER

Migrants hitch rides in the back of trucks as the thousands-strong caravan of Central Americans hoping to reach the US border moves onward from Juchitan, Oaxaca state, Mexico on November 1, 2018.

other types of threats.

The current focus of the president’s repeated claim to be acting against “an invasion” is the dwindling group of a few thousand impoverished migrants trying to get north, but still far from the US border.

Trump said that from now on, the United States will stop its policy of allowing people to claim political asylum at the border un-

Those caught at the border will be held in tent camps or other facilities until they can be deported or have their requests approved, he said.

Critics say that such a radical rethink to asylum policies could violate current laws.

But Trump rejected this. “This is totally legal. No, we’re stopping people at the border. This is an invasion, and nobody is even

questioning that,” he said.

“We’ll be doing an executive order sometime next week,” he said, giving little further detail.

Despite Trump’s increasingly severe warnings of immigration chaos, the government on Wednesday issued

people have been apprehended at the

1.6 million in 2000.

Trump said he was not antiimmigrant but wanted immigration

to be completely brought under control.

“Mass uncontrolled immigration is especially unfair to the many wonderful law-abiding immigrants already living here who followed the rules and waited their turn,” he said.

“Some have been waiting for many years. Some have been waiting a long time. They have done everything perfectly, and they are going to come in.”