Trump, who tweeted recently that there are “Gang Members and some very bad people” in the caravan of more than 5,000 people reportedly fleeing Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, was interviewed by Fox News. He said his administration will “hold” the migrants who apply for asylum rather than releasing them pending their court dates, as previous administrations have done.
“If they applied for asylum, we’re going to hold them until such time as their trial takes place,” Trump said.
Asked where these tent cities will be placed, Trump said that they will be placed “all over the place,” adding “we’re not going to build structures and spend all of this, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars —we’re going to have tents.”
“They're going to be very nice,” the US President pointed out.
Earlier Trump called the migrant caravan an “invasion” and referred to the November midterm election as the “caravan” election.
“I think I've been toned down if you want to know the truth. I could really tone it up because, as you know, the media's been extremely unfair to me and to the Republican Party,” Trump said.
Earlier on Monday, Trump ordered the deployment of 5,200 active-duty troops to secure the US border with Mexico. The order came after Twitter videos showed a caravan crossing the Mexico-Guatemala border via the Suchiate River.