Migrant caravan to leave Mexico City for US border

A group of thousands of Central American migrants on Friday will leave Mexico City and continue their journey toward the U.S. as the Trump administration takes steps to limit their ability to request asylum. 

The migrants, who number between 4,000 and 5,000, voted Thursday night to resume walking to the U.S. border Friday, according to USA Today.

{mosads}The vote follows a Thursday declaration from the White House that it would seek to clamp down on asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Under current law, migrants can request asylum either by presenting themselves at legal ports of entry or by sidestepping those ports and crossing the border illegally. The new rules would disallow those migrants who cross illegally from seeking asylum and instead place them in expedited deportation proceedings. 

Critics have long noted that extended wait times at ports of entry may not be an option for migrants fleeing danger in their home countries.

Immigration has been a fixture of President Trump’s administration. The president has called the migrant group “invaders.”

He railed against illegal immigration on the campaign trail ahead of the midterm elections and has explored a number of plans to limit legal immigration during his presidency.