all this coming on the heels of kirstjen neilsen saying asylum is not something you are going to get if you are coming. >> there seems to be misunderstanding among the caravan. if you're coming to seek family reunification that is not asylum. you cannot stay. if you're coming to seek a job that is not asylum, you cannot stay. >> reporter: all this on the heels of the president announcing sending 800 troops to the border, and the president reportedly mulling an executive order that would make it more difficult for asylum-seekers to get into the us, the president tweeting to the caravan saying turn around. people here, honduras man a few minutes ago says he came on this trip because the honduran president, juan hernandez, failed him. when he hears the president cutting off aid to honduras it doesn't matter to him because the 8 that has come, the people haven't seen a dime of it. they say many will start waking up soon and begin their march northward because they want to get moving because by midday it will get very hot here. >> i understand the troops will be there by october 30th as w

dhs secretary kirstjen neilsen saying if they are coming for work they may not find, where they are comingor they should turn back. take a listen. >> there seems to be a misunderstanding among the caravan. if you're coming here to seek family reunification that is not asylum, you cannot stay. if you're coming to seek a job that is not asylum, you cannot stay. rob: here is the thing. when we speak with these migrants about donald trump saying turn around, donald trump saying they will not be allowed in and the president is considering an executive order making it more difficult for asylum-seekers from central america to come to the united states they are going to try to do this, 13 days when this began on the guatemala border, but in the case of honduras, the honduran president hernandez is the real problem and that is why they are coming here. they hear donald trump saying they are cutting off aid, it doesn't matter because they never have seen the aid the us gave to honduras and they believe that is why so many central americans are coming, not just mexican officials made it difficult to

but as secretary of homeland security security kirstjen neilsen said during her own tour of the border yesterday, everything is on the table. >> sreenivasan: this was not-- this is not the firsttime a caravan has tried to do this. what can we learn from the previous pattern, of the number of people who quit along wait or turn around our stp in mexico? >> a previous caravan, earlier this year, that arrived at the u.s. border in april, gives s a better picture of what's really going on. in that case, thagroup started off at about 1500. about 500 of them made it to the border. 122 of those were apprehended trying to enteunr the y illegally. but most of them, 401, legally presented themselves at the ports of entry, as our government has been urging them todo. 374 of those, or about 93%, passed their inial crble fear screening, which means that they're now in the country. they're going through the asylum yiocess, and they're apg to try to stay here legally. so i think that gives you a better picture of what we could expect when this cur ends up making it to the border. >> sreenasan: all rig

top of the 2000 national guard members already at the border and homeland security secretary kirstjen neilsen explains how the troops would be used. >> helping to bolster our capability, we are looking for air support, logistics, planning, vehicle barriers, engineering, and offices and agents themselves. >> unclear if us troops would be armed or engage with the migrants in any capacity. the president sent a message to the people coming to north quoting to those in the caravan turnaround. we are not letting people into the united states illegally, go back to your country and if you want, apply for citizenship like millions of others are doing. migrants who reach the border can claim asylum and would be allowed to stay while their cases are processed but many in the caravan told fox news they don't plan to seek asylum but they do plan to come into the united states and for context last year the us at 331,000 asylum claims. the most of any country in the world and the number of asylum claims in 2017 was four times higher than it was in 2013. >> we will debate that a little later. turning toward

>> reporter: well, not only law enforcement officials but kirstjen neilsen the homeland security saidiled from florida. so we have been told that by law enforcement officials for, on a background basis, now she has been saying it publicly, too. it seems pretty clear some were mailed from florida. it does seem possible that all of them were mailed from florida. but i don't know that they've concluded that yet. but they do say that all of them were mailed. you may remember early on the ones to george soros were delivered. if they were delivered. that's because the mail was sent to them and received at an off site and hand delivered to the final destination. it appears all of these devices were at least put into the mail system. >>> all right, nbc news' pete pumps, thank you owe /* williams, thank you -- >> all right, nbc news' news' pete williams. thank you. we can try to future all of this into context. joe. >> i don't know we can, michael. why don't we look at the past couple days. i'm curious what insights you may have about it. you write a book ability presidents at war. in this cas