Independent reporter Anthony Aguero has identified two organizations assisting migrants associated with the caravan: Proyecto Faro and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, commonly known as ADRA.
Aguero wrote, “Proyecto Faro and ADRA” are the organizations currently assisting the migrants and separately argued that the movement was being encouraged rather than developing entirely on its own.
That claim, however, should be distinguished from the documented fact that the organizations have provided humanitarian assistance. Available reporting confirms that representatives from Proyecto Faro and ADRA were among those providing assistance to migrants in Tapachula. It does not independently establish that either organization organized or financed the caravan itself.
Proyecto Faro is an immigrant-support organization based in Rockland County, New York. The organization publicly lists numerous funders, including the Harry Donenfeld Foundation, Gitlin Family Foundation, Freedom Together Foundation, New York Immigration Coalition, religious organizations and government-related programs.
Those funding relationships are publicly disclosed by Proyecto Faro. But the existence of those grants does not, by itself, demonstrate that money from any particular donor was used to pay for or organize the current caravan.
ADRA is a separate humanitarian organization affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It operates international humanitarian and development programs and receives support from a mixture of private and governmental sources.
The distinction is important because providing food, medical care, transportation assistance or other humanitarian services to migrants is not the same thing as organizing their journey to the United States.
Still, the presence of organized humanitarian assistance illustrates how quickly migrant caravans can receive support once they cross into Mexico.
The caravan’s progress also comes as the Trump administration has maintained a significantly tougher border posture than the policies in place during the Biden administration. DHS has emphasized that migrants attempting to illegally enter the United States will face detention, prosecution and removal rather than the previous system of widespread release into the country.
DHS directly addressed the new caravan in a social-media post over the weekend.
“Our time has come,” the department said.
The agency accompanied its message with a video featuring former Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos safety Brian Dawkins. DHS later stated that the United States Border Patrol was actively tracking a caravan that had departed San Pedro Sula on September 20 and that American authorities were coordinating with international partners.
DHS also said the border had remained closed and secured and warned migrants considering the journey that the era of “catch and release” had ended.
The department declared that anyone attempting to illegally enter the United States would be apprehended, prosecuted and removed.
The DHS post itself became a separate controversy after the NFL requested that the agency remove the Dawkins footage. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed that the league had asked DHS to take down the video, while Dawkins said he had not authorized use of his name, image or likeness.
Regardless of that dispute, the larger border issue remains.
Hundreds of migrants are now moving through Mexico with the United States as their stated destination. Mexican authorities and humanitarian organizations are already responding to the group, while U.S. border officials are monitoring its progress.
Whether the caravan grows or disperses as it moves north remains to be seen. What is clear is that the arrival of another organized migrant group is putting border enforcement back in the national spotlight just weeks before Americans head to the polls.
For the Trump administration, the message from DHS is unmistakable: officials say the border remains closed to illegal entry, and migrants making the journey should expect a very different reception than they might have encountered under previous policies.
