Having a sliver of faith and an ounce of bravery, Carlos and his friends who face persecution daily in their home country of Honduras decided to form their own caravan to the United States. Soon their dreams became a reality as they left their families in hope of a better life.

These caravans are made up of thousands of people like Carlos. They’re all Central Americans mostly from Honduras but also from Guatemala and El Salvador.  

Instead of taking to Twitter to further spread his criticizing claims with lack of evidence, President Donald Trump must start planning what steps he will take to ensure the safety of these people. He must also help the Mexican government deal with the unexpected arrival of the migrants.

After their strenuous journey, the caravan of 6,000 migrants is currently in Tijuana, a Mexican city bordering Southern California. Their goal is to apply for asylum in the United States.

Asylum will only be granted if the initial interview is passed. This requires proof that the migrant has credible fear toward their home country. Once the interview is passed, the migrants are then given a court date to continue their case.

Although more than 2,000 migrants have petitioned for asylum, they have an expected wait time of two months. Only under 100 migrants are processed daily. That dangerously low number only threatens the stability of the migrants.

Trump’s approach toward the caravans is very childlike, claiming that they consist of very bad people in hopes of this being the political strategy that strengthens the Republican party. On the contrary, there is no evidence provided by Trump or his administration that supports the idea of dangerous people being a part of the caravans.

A peaceful march was organized by the migrants on Nov. 25 to express their frustration. It got out of control and the migrants ran toward a border crossing in San Diego. This act of distress resulted in the United States Customs and Border Protection agency firing tear gas into the crowd which consisted of children.

This fearsome act is not only horrible but unethical. Since the migrants were not on american soil, the U.S. had no right to fire the tear gas.

Tijuana was hit with a similar situation two years ago when thousands of Haitians migrated there. Their plan of crossing the U.S. border failed so they stayed in Tijuana. Currently 3,000 Haitians reside in Tijuana.

With a population of 1,696,923, Tijuana is incapable of holding so many people. Baja California as a whole has experienced an 84 percent increase in murder victims in 2017. With its own problems to deal with, Tijuana doesn’t have the space or money to deal with the caravans.

Honduras has had the highest murder rate in the world since 2010. In 2016, 59 out of every 100,000 people were murdered and 7,000-10,000 people out of the eight million people who live in the country are street gang members.

All the migrants aspire is to live a happy and peaceful life that resembles the “American Dream.” It’s obviously impossible to succeed in life with those horrifying odds.

Through Twitter, Trump described the migrants as Mexico’s problem. By calling them invaders, he wants Central Americans to remain in Mexico while their asylum cases are being processed.

“Would be very SMART if Mexico would stop the Caravans long before they get to our Southern Border,” Trump tweeted on Nov. 25. “ Dems created this problem. No crossings!”

The goal of this grueling journey isn’t about favoring a political party or what fits an agenda. The motive of the caravans is to flee the violence that resides in their country.

In a time of extreme stress and controversy, Trump must not allow the media or politics cloud his judgment. The migrants should claim asylum and not be forced back to their violent-filled countries.