PIJIJIAPAN, Mexico — María has been traveling with her two daughters from Honduras in the company of thousands of strangers, most of whom are young, single men. So it follows that she has some concerns about safety as they travel north as part of the migrant caravan.

María, who asked for partial anonymity because of threats on her life in Honduras, has developed two critical coping strategies: befriend and travel alongside men she deems trustworthy, and, unlike most of the caravan’s migrants, don’t sleep in public parks or on sidewalks.

Through charm, guile and a muscular determination to make it with her daughters to the American border, María, who is broke, has somehow managed to line up accommodation in private homes, usually staying for free.

“I’m not going to expose my girls to the street,” she insisted.

The caravan began on Oct. 12 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, with several hundred people. But it quickly grew into the thousands as it moved into Guatemala and then southern Mexico. Along the way, it has angered President Trump and grabbed international attention.