NPR

With Thousands Of Migrants Crossing The Border Daily, We Asked 'Why Now?'

Three possible factors account for the surge of migrants at the border: economics, social media and the Trump administration's own tougher immigration policies.
Irsi Castillo of Honduras holds her 3-year-old daughter just after crossing the Rio Grande into the U.S. at El Paso, Texas. Castillo is one in the surge of thousands of migrants claiming asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Irsi Castillo clutches her 3-year-old daughter to her chest to shield her from the wind. They've just crossed the Rio Grande and stepped onto U.S. soil in El Paso, Texas, after traveling from Honduras.

Thousands of migrants like Castillo are crossing the border every day and turning themselves in to the Border Patrol. They're fleeing poverty and violence in Central America.

At the current pace, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen says, almost 100,000 migrants will cross the border this month — far exceeding last

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