DONAJI, Mexico — As President Donald Trump ramped up his anti-migrant rhetoric ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections, exhausted Central Americans walking across Mexico in hopes of reaching the United States said they were mostly perplexed and turned off by his threats, which they perceive as exaggerated.
The U.S. president has spent the final days of the campaign hammering the issue as he tries to energize Republican voters, and his favorite target has been the migrant caravan of almost 4,000 people that is still more than 800 miles away from the nearest U.S. border. Three smaller ones are following behind it.
Trump’s recent statements include that he plans to sign an order that could lead to the detention of migrants crossing the southern border, and barring anyone caught crossing illegally from claiming asylum. Both propositions are legally dubious. Trump also said he had told the U.S. military mobilizing at the southwest border that if U.S. troops face rock-throwing migrants, they ..