MATIAS ROMERO, Mexico—A caravan of migrants from Central America set out from southern Mexico last week hoping to raise awareness of the suffering many migrants face from poverty and violence at home.

Many said they hoped to make it to the U.S. and begin a new life. Instead, they have become the focus of a growing crisis between the U.S. and Mexico and the object of almost daily attacks on Twitter from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Now, the caravan has largely stopped in this small hamlet in southern Mexico hundreds of miles from the U.S. border. The migrants find themselves in an uncomfortable spotlight, worried about what happens next.

On Wednesday, the group of about 1,200 migrants—mostly from Honduras, according to organizers and participants—began their fourth day at a public sports center here. “We’re in limbo,” said one man who lay down outside the center, surrounded by rolled mattresses and garbage bags full of empty groceries and bottles.

Organizers admit they were taken aback by both the size of this year’s caravan—which has been a periodic ritual since 2010—and the attention it has received. They also admit their original plan of making their way to the U.S. border has likely changed.