A look at what is a caravan and how many people are in it as immigration laws are a hot topic.
If you were born in the 1980s or 1990s, you probably rode around in a Dodge Caravan. Seriously, the thing was as popular as Pee Wee Herman back then. The caravan in the news this week is quite different, however, as a caravan of thousands of Latin American migrants are moving their way through Mexico.
President Donald Trump tried to rile up his base this week by dropping hints that the migrant caravan is on its way to the United States, saying that America’s immigration laws are horrendous and warning that “many criminals” were about to enter the United States. In actuality, the slow moving mass of people are still more than 1,000 miles from the United States border. That’s basically as far as Washington, D.C. to Miami. In other words, it takes a hell of a long time to walk that far.
“Sadly it looks like Mexico’s Police and Military are unable to stop the Caravan heading to the Southern Border of the United States,” Trump tweeted. “Criminals and unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in. I have alerted Border Patrol and Military that this is a National Emergency. Must change laws!”
The definition of a caravan according to Merriam Webster’s dictionary is “a company of travelers on a journey through desert or hostile regions.” It is also, “a group of vehicles traveling together” and “a covered wagon or motor vehicle equipped as traveling living quarters.”
Believe it or not, Dodge Grand Caravan’s are still being made to this day. They debuted in 1984 under the Chrysler Corporation and were produced under that umbrella until 1998.
Contrary to Trump’s rhetoric, the majority of people in the caravan are oppressed families from Honduras seeking a better life and are not a threat to anyone in the United States. The caravan is said to be around 4,000 people but not all persons looking to cross the border will arrive at once.
