U.S. to send more troops to border before caravan arrives

WASHINGTON—Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is expected to sign an order Thursday sending 800 or more troops to reinforce the U.S. southern border in anticipation of the arrival of a migrant caravan, officials said Thursday. President Donald Trump has called the approaching caravan, estimated at 7,000 people strong, a national emergency. The group departed today from Mapastepec, Mexico, more than 1,000 miles from the U.S. border. Mexican officials said nearly 1,700 migrants have dropped out of the caravan to apply for asylum in Mexico, and a few hundred have accepted government offers to bus them back to their home countries.

A second, smaller caravan of Hondurans is also headed for the Mexican border. Estimates place its size at between 1,000 and 2,000 travelers. The second caravan is currently in Guatemala, about 200 miles behind the first group.