We are in a period of human history in which more people are on the run than ever before, according to the United Nations, with tens of millions of people displaced by conflict and instability worldwide. This mass migration is one of the biggest stories of our time, and our correspondents have been documenting it across the globe for years, traveling with Syrian families on the arduous trek through Europe, following Rohingya refugees as they escape Myanmar and even tracking down a distraught mother in a remote Senegalese village who lost multiple sons to the deadly crossing from Africa.

In Latin America alone, we have written extensively about the exodus of Venezuelans trying to flee their country’s economic collapse, the rush of Cubans trying to leave the island before the chance slipped away, and the desperation of Haitians who wend their way across the hemisphere only to end up stranded in Mexico. A few years ago, our Mexico City bureau chief, Azam Ahmed, walked the dangerous migrant trail through Mexico himself to record what migrants faced along the route.

Our stories on the latest migrant caravan are part of that continued coverage, and they will almost certainly not be the last. The journey north is so treacherous that migrants have increasingly decided to travel in large groups for safety, marking a potential shift in traditional migration patterns.

Having our reporters, photographers and videographers on the ground with them enables us to give our readers a full, accurate sense of who these migrants are, and what is driving them to abandon their homes to risk such a difficult, potentially fruitless, journey.

And, yes, President Trump is a big part of the equation. But that does not make the caravan any less of a story. It simply adds yet another powerful dynamic to an already newsworthy phenomenon. After all, Mr. Trump’s immigration policies determine the fate of these migrants, and his repeated return to immigration as a campaign theme shapes the election debate.