They are neither merchants nor pilgrims. I doubt they are facing severe hardship during their journey as most of their basic needs are being met courtesy of wealthy benefactors.

Caravan refers to, “A group of travelers, as merchants or pilgrims, journeying together for safety in passing through deserts or hostile territory.” Conjuring up images dating back to biblical days of people braving hardship during their travels, the media has coopted the term for political benefit to describe a horde of illegal immigrants heading to the U.S. just ahead of a major election.

The current caravan is a group of four- to seven-thousand Hondurans, traveling from Honduras to the United States. Google Maps shows the distance between San Pedro Sula, the large city in Honduras where the march started, and Brownsville, Texas, the most logical border city, as about 1,408 miles, a 500-hour trek on foot.

Fox News screenshot

Assuming generously that the caravan walks 10 hours a day, it will take the group 46 days to reach the U.S., long after the upcoming midterm election. It’s also safe to assume that they are riding most of the way, on trucks or busses.

Interestingly, the caravan consists primarily of military-aged men, as opposed to women and children, as this photo from the Daily Mail demonstrates. Women and children are few, and mainly being used as photo props. The migrant hordes entering Europe from the Middle East were also primarily young men.

Screenshot from Fox News

What the media is surprisingly incurious about is who is paying for this journey. Thousands of adults and children on a 45-day trek, need food, water, bathroom facilities, first aid, and other services that all cost money. The New York Times was all over the false story of United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley ordering extravagant new drapes, but they are uninterested in funding of this enormously costly caravan.

The timing is also suspicious. This caravan is making its move in October, the month of “surprises” ahead of a major election. Two years ago, it was the Access Hollywood tapes. This October brought us last-minute Justice Kavanaugh accusations, Senator Elizabeth Warren unsuccessfully attempting to prove herself Native American, a suspicious murder in Turkey implicating the Saudi royal family, and now this supposedly spontaneous migrant caravan.

The only common denominator is an upcoming election, one of the utmost importance to Democrats, on political life support, desperately trying to regain power and relevance. These events are not coincidental, instead all are preplanned and part of an electoral strategy.

The migrant horde, at least 4,000 in number, seek better socio-economic opportunity in the United States, something lacking in their home country. They are not alone. Some 150 million adults worldwide would migrate to the U.S. if they could. Bringing their children, parents, and extended families could double this number, and double the U.S. population if they all actually came here. That would fulfill Barack Obama’s dream of “fundamentally transforming America” although not in a good way.

Without language or other skills necessary to be productive in the U.S. (and Central American nations rank the lowest in the hemisphere for English), most would be enjoying the health, education, and welfare benefits of the U.S. courtesy of already overtaxed US citizens. What else might they be bringing?

How about diseases, particularly those common in their home countries, but not in the U.S.? I’ve written about drug-resistant TB, scabies, chicken pox and hepatitis crossing the border with these migrants. Chagas disease is the latest regional scourge turning up in the U.S. Terrorists could also easily join the caravan, bringing in weapons and ideologies of mass destruction to the U.S. Already, the president of Guatemala has stated he's found such terrorists in his country. This, in addition to run of the mill criminals – thieves, murderers, rapists, gang members, and the like. Remember Kate Steinle?

Interesting that 100 ISIS terrorists were caught in Guatemala at the same time the caravan moved toward the U.S. How many were not caught and remain within the caravan? Democrats and the media seem non-plussed about this clear and present threat to America.

Recently there has been an uptick in acute flaccid myelitis, a polio-like neurologic illness affecting mostly children, untreatable, and often leading to permanent paralysis. Polio has been mostly eradicated but is still prevalent in Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. It has also returned to Venezuela, a side benefit of their full-on socialism.

Could any of these caravan migrants be from these countries and carrying a polio-like illness? Does everyone entering the U.S. receive a physical exam? Is the recent outbreak of acute flaccid myelitis a coincidence or is it related? The CDC is mum on the subject, so we can only speculate and try to connect the dots.

Democrats hope the caravan will hurt President Trump. Images of the U.S. military turning away migrants from the border will dominate the news cycle. All that’s necessary is for a Democrat brown-shirt activist, inserted into the caravan, attempting to trigger a violent response from the military or an ICE agent, captured and edited by preplaced media operatives, all to damage Trump and Republicans ahead of the midterms.

Trump is wisely encouraging Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico to stop the caravan, wielding a big economic stick as he makes these countries an offer they can’t refuse. After two years, they already know not to cross Trump, especially on his signature issue of border security. So far, Mexico is listening to Trump, attempting to stop the caravan on their southern border.

I have a better idea. Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell should call their respective houses of Congress into emergency session to vote on completely funding the wall on the U.S. southern border. After all, this is a matter of national security and urgency.

Let every member of Congress go on record as for or against border and national security. Then load up all illegal immigrants currently in U.S. detention centers into busses and send them to the local campaign offices of all members of Congress, regardless of party, who voted against protecting and securing our borders.

Drop them off in San Francisco, Manhattan, Portland, and Seattle, at the district offices of those voting 'no' on the wall. Let these Representatives and Senators contend with illegal immigrants in their neighborhoods and districts. How will the voters like a small migrant caravan in their towns? Perhaps they can then ask their elected officials why they refuse to do anything to stop or prevent this? What a good question to ask a few days before an election.

Let the Democrats defend opening our country to those disrespecting America, as this photo of two migrants burning the American flag on the Guatemala-Mexico border illustrates.

Honduran's show respect for the migrant caravan by burning our American Flag in front of the embassy. Outrageous! Wrong! #SponsoredInvasion #StopTheCaravan #StopTheInvasion pic.twitter.com/zL9cQB52YH — Maria 🇺🇸👠 (@GUSMAR80) October 21, 2018

Those virtue signaling over the plight of illegal immigrants can live with the consequences of their virtue. If the immigrants are all law-abiding, hard-working, productive members of society, then these communities should be delighted with their new residents. If they are something else, then too bad.

Elections have consequences. Vote for a party that wants open borders and unlimited immigration, then live with the results of that decision, but at home, in their backyard, not somewhere else. It’s only when voters and legislators have to live with the consequences of their votes do the votes seem to matter.

How would that be for an October surprise, this time for the Democrats.

Screenshot, Fox News

Brian C Joondeph, MD, MPS, a Denver based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Images credit: Fox News screenshots