An MSNBC correspondent said Monday that the majority of people in the migrant caravan at the southern border were men, noting some of them weren't talking about seeking asylum.
Reporting just over the southern border in Tijuana, Mexico, Gadi Schwartz took viewers on a walking tour through the "inner sanctum" of the shelter for the caravan, which consists of Central American migrants.
"You're going to see a lot of families here, a lot of women and children, but the truth is the majority of the people that are part of this caravan ... the majority of them are men, so when this becomes a polarized, political issue in the United States, you have people on one side that point and say, 'There are women and children here,' and that is true, and then there are others who point and say, 'These are men that are trying to cross the border,' and that's true, too," Schwartz said.
"From what we've seen, the majority are actually men, and some of these men have not articulated that need for asylum," he continued. "Instead, they have talked about going to the United States for a better life and to find work."
Schwartz reported seeing roughly 600 men standing in line at a food bank at the outskirts of the migrant encampment.
Authorities closed a port of entry between the U.S. and Mexico on Sunday and fired tear gas to disperse some members of the caravan who attempted to breach the border. Some of them threw projectiles, such as rocks and bottles.
Multiple news outlets illustrated the story with a mother and her two children running away from the fence.
President Donald Trump frequently invoked the caravan as a potential invasion of the country during the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections, deploying troops to bolster border control agents in anticipation of its arrival.
Trump tweeted Monday that he would "permanently" close the border if needed to respond to illegal immigration. He said many of the caravan members were "stone cold criminals."
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