Image of migrant caravan from 2018, not current US-Mexico border | Fact check

Isabel C. Morales, USA TODAY
Updated ·4 min read
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The claim: Post implies a large caravan of migrants is at the US-Mexico border

A Dec. 18 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a photo of a large group of migrants.

“We must use our great military on the southern border to stop the invasion of illegal alien immigrants,” reads the caption of the post from a conservative commentator.

Many commenters took the post to mean the caravan in the image is currently at the border.

“This administration is not going to stop the illegals from crossing the border because they plan on allowing them to vote in the 2024 election,” wrote one user.

The post was shared more than 100 times in two days.

More from the USA TODAY Fact-Check Team:

Our rating: Missing context

The implied claim here is wrong. The photo of the large caravan of migrants is from 2018 and was taken in a small town in southern Mexico, not at the US-Mexico border.

Photo taken in 2018 near Guatemala

In 2018, caravans of migrants headed toward the US-Mexico border from throughout Central America. The groups included migrants from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and other countries, growing to thousands of people as they moved through Mexico.

The picture in the Facebook post shows this event, not a recent occurrence at America's southern border. And it predates the current administration.

Politico published the photo on Oct. 29, 2018, when former President Donald Trump was in office. The photo was published by other media outlets in 2018 as well.

The photo has been repeatedly re-used and mislabeled since by conservative groups and individuals criticizing Democrats' handling of immigration issues.

The caravans did not achieve their goal, according to Adam Isacson, director of defense oversight for the Washington Office on Latin America, a nonprofit advocacy organization.

“The 2018-19 'caravans' were an effort by migrants in Mexico to travel safely to the U.S.-Mexico border without having to pay smugglers," said Isacson. "No 'caravan' has succeeded in arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border since early 2019, because Mexican forces break them up or prohibit vehicles from transporting their members. This is not how migrants arrive."

The number of apprehensions at the Southwest border has grown significantly in recent years, from about 397,000 in fiscal year 2018 to over 2 million during the 2023 fiscal year.

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Less than a year before the 2024 presidential election, immigration continues to be an issue of debate.

Congress and President Joe Biden have not reached an agreement on the future of illegal immigration and the situation at the border. Biden has said he is willing to make “significant compromises” if Congress approves additional aid for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Trump, a candidate for the Republican nomination for 2024, said at a rally in New Hampshire on Saturday that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country,” generating widespread controversy.

The post's author shows a relationship with the conservative website The Raging Patriot. USA TODAY has previously debunked claims from The Raging Patriot, including a false claim that election officials in Arizona admitted to breaking the law.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Migrant caravan is from 2018, not current apprehensions | Fact check