Thousands from migrant caravan are giving up on trying to enter the US after facing Trump's tough asylum policies

Associated Press/Rodrigo Abd

U.S.-bound Central American migrants begin their morning trek with a free ride on a truck as they leave Cordoba, Veracruz state, Mexico, Monday, Nov. 5, 2018.

• Over 2,000 members of the migrant caravan that intended to seek asylum in the United States have either chosen to return home or remain in Mexico on work permits, The New York Times reports, citing data from the Mexican government.
• Of the roughly 6,000 members of the caravan, over 1,000 have chosen to return home with assistance from the Mexican government, while 1,000 others will remain in Mexico on work permits, according to The Times.
• Their decisions suggest that Trump Administration policies to decrease the number of migrants who seek asylum in the US have influenced migrant behavior.

Over 2,000 members of the migrant caravan that intended to seek asylum in the United States have either chosen to return home or remain in Mexico on work permits, The New York Times reports, citing data from the Mexican government.

Of the roughly 6,000 members of the caravan, over 1,000 have chosen to return home with assistance from the Mexican government, while 1,000 others will remain in Mexico on work permits, according to The Times.

The Trump Administration has adopted policies designed to decrease the number of migrants who seek asylum in the US, including daily quotas on the number of people who can apply for asylum, more restrictive criteria determining eligibility, and a requirement that some adults and families seeking asylum remain in Mexico as their cases move through the US legal system.

Read more: Trump's national emergency for border wall will 'quickly' face legal challenges and sets a dangerous precedent, experts say

The decisions of some caravan members to give up their attempt to enter the US suggest that the Trump Administration's policies have influenced migrant behavior.

President Donald Trump's approach to immigration policy has created controversy. While President Trump has argued that undocumented immigration along the southern border of the US represents a crisis, the number of undocumented immigrants in the US has declined since 2007 and in 2016 reached its lowest level since 2004. Some statistics also suggest that both documented and undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born citizens of the US.

President Trump on Friday declared a national emergency to acquire funding for a wall on the southern border, a move that legal experts have said could face legal challenges and set a harmful precedent.