The latest caravan of people crossed peacefully, showing their documents to security personnel under the watchful eye of 200 Guatemalan police and soldiers.

Riot police formed a second line to contain any disturbance.

Edilberto Hernandez queued with his wife and four children to get into Guatemala. He lost his job as a police officer and has only been able to find low-paid construction work since.

He decided to travel to the US “out of necessity, because of the poverty” he said.

It is uncertain what will happen to them once they reach the border. Previous caravans which Donald Trump seized upon in the run-up to the 2018 US midterm elections have dwindled, with many of the people heading home to Central America or staying in Mexico.

Despite a hard-line rhetoric from the Trump administration on immigration, many people still seek to enter the US illegally.

About 6,000 people from Central America reach Tijuana in November. There was conflict between the US and Mexico over their presence in the city.

As of Monday, fewer than 700 migrants were still in a former concert venue in the city which had been set up as a shelter.

The US border patrol has made about 2,600 caravan related arrests in San Diego, across the border from Tijuana, which it says indicates half of the group attempted to cross illegally.

Families are typically released without notification to appear in immigration court.

Mexican officials say 1,300 caravan members have returned to Central America and it has issued humanitarian visas to about 2,900 others. Many of those are now working legally.

One of those who stayed in Mexico is Francis Lopez, a former clothing factory worker who made a snap decision with his wife to leave Honduras in October and try to get to a relative in Florida.

But he is having second thoughts after a lawyer told him he had a weak case.

Of potential detention before deportation he said: “It’s a loss of time, a loss of time that you can never recover.”

Javier Diaz, from El Salvador, is also working in Tijuana. He is a taxi driver, working on a visa.

He said he had hoped to make it to the US but Mexico was better than going home. He has a wife and five children.

He said: “If Mexico deports me today, I will be in Mexico again tomorrow. If I can go to the United States, better.”

On Tuesday Mr Trump tweeted: “A big new Caravan is heading up to our Southern Border from Honduras. Tell Nancy and Chuck that a drone flying around will not stop them. Only a Wall will work.”

The US government has been in partial shutdown for more than three weeks as a battle continues between Mr Trump and the House over funding for a border wall with Mexico.

The wall was one of Mr Trump’s key campaign promises during the 2016 presidential election.

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