Honduran immigrants of the caravan heading to Mexico get on trucks to Guatemala City, in Zacapa, Guatemala, on Wednesday. Photo by Esteban Biba/EPA-EFE

Oct. 18 (UPI) -- The Mexican government sent federal police to its southern border to intercept a caravan of migrants headed toward the United States.

Mexico's Interior and Foreign Relations ministries said in a joint statement that migrants without the required documentation to enter Mexico will be deported, but those who wish to apply for asylum will be allowed to enter the country to do so, USA Today reported.


The migrant caravan has approximately 4,000 people and has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold aid from Latin American countries that allow the caravan to pass through.

"We have today informed the countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador that if they allow their citizens, or others, to journey through their borders and up to the United States, with the intention of entering our country illegally, all payments made to them will STOP (END)!" Trump tweeted on Tuesday.

Political analyst Carlos Bravo Regidor told the Los Angeles Times that Mexico is acting at the behest of Trump, who has made cracking down on illegal immigration a focal point of his presidency.

"They are clearly responding to Trump's outbursts," Regidor said. "I think that for a really long time, Mexico has outsourced its decisions about our southern border to the U.S."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to meet with his counterparts in Mexico City on Friday and the caravan will be a "prominent" topic of discussion, a senior State Department official told reporters on Wednesday.

"I am certain that there will be conversations in Mexico about how we can work together on this issue," the official said. "We are certainly looking for concrete results and for solutions that work for both countries."