Shep Smith: Trump Is Campaigning On Public 'Fear Of An Invasion Of Migrants'

Fox News host Shepard Smith has continued his fact-checking on stories and fearmongering being perpetuated by President Donald Trump and the current administration in reference to a migrant caravan in Mexico heading for the U.S.

Smith told viewers on Tuesday afternoon that the migrant caravan is not “coming to get anyone.”

“They’re seeking relief from their hell at home. And that’s the truth,” he said.

Thousands of people from Central America are making their way from countries like Honduras and Guatemala to the United States in an arduous journey for asylum from poverty, violence and more.

“What would it take for you and your family to walk 1,100 miles in 105-feels-like temperature with an entire government telling you, ‘We don’t want you’ to seek asylum from whatever it is you’re trying to escape? Imagine,” Smith said. “Let’s take a look at how all this really began, the politics aside, please.” He then went into an explanation about the gang violence many of the migrants are running from.

Earlier on Tuesday, Smith fact-checked Trump’s tweet that “unknown Middle Easterners” were hiding among the caravan and that it was a “national emergy [sic]” so he had alerted the military.

Smith responded, “An important note: Fox News knows of no evidence to suggest the president is accurate on that matter, and the president has offered no evidence to support what he has said.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Smith doubled down on rebuking the president’s rhetoric, saying, “The president has called it an assault on the U.S. border. It is absolutely not. It’s nowhere near the U.S. border.”

Smith stressed how far the caravan is from the border and described how “exhausted, many sick, riddled with injuries,” they are “from the hard journey.”

“There’s concern that children could die if they pass out because there aren’t enough ambulances and doctors even to treat them.”

In another part of his reporting, Smith read from a tweet from a viewer. The tweet, below, called the caravan an “invasion” and claimed that Trump “has intel” that Smith doesn’t have.

Smith responded that Trump does not have such information: “No, he doesn’t. POTUS has politics.”

“He told us just the other day, so I can report to you with certainty, they’re running on Kavanaugh and caravan, your fear of an invasion of migrants,” said Smith.

“We just showed you their pictures.”

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.