Yahoo News Explains: Fact-checking 5 of Trump's claims on migrants

President Trump has repeatedly condemned the thousands of Honduran migrants who are pushing toward the U.S. border, but how accurate are his claims?

1. He recently tweeted:

True: The U.S. has been providing those countries with millions in aid, and Trump has frequently threatened to cut it off.

According to USAID, last year the U.S. gave:

• Guatemala: $249 million

• Honduras: $175 million

• El Salvador: $115 million

2. “People are coming over from Honduras,” said Trump. “They have like 5,000 people. Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and some of these people are hardened criminals, not good people.”

False: There’s no evidence any of them are criminals. According to NBC News, the travelers said they were fleeing unemployment and violence.

One study from this year by the Cato Institute found that crime rates were higher among native-born Americans than among undocumented immigrants.

When asked what evidence he had, President Trump said, “Oh please, don’t be a baby. Take a look.”

3. “Mexico is now really fighting a very tough situation,” Trump said. “Mexican soldiers have been hurt, badly hurt in a couple of cases.”

True and false: Several police officers were injured, as were an undetermined number of migrants, in a clash between police and migrants at the border.

However, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has maintained that the migrants are welcome as long as they respect the law.

4. “It’s openly inviting millions of illegal aliens to break our laws, violate our borders and overwhelm our nation. The Democrats want caravans, they like caravans,” Trump claimed.

The president also insinuated that Democrats helped organize and fund the caravan.

False: There is no evidence for these claims. Democrats have supported legislation to tighten border security.

Daniel Wessel, a spokesman for the DNC, added that Democrats have supported bills in the Senate that aim to “address the root causes of the Central American migrant crisis.”

5. “We have the visa lottery, where we take people by lottery from countries,” said Trump. “Just from a business standpoint, do you think they’re giving us their finest? We get some real beauties out of the lottery.”

False: The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program uses a computer program managed by the State Department to randomly select 50,000 immigrant visas a year from the millions of people who apply.

No country submits applicants.

To be eligible for the program, candidates must have a high school diploma or two years of work in a field specified by the State Department.

Once selected, applicants undergo a background check, interview and medical tests before entering the country.

With midterm elections approaching, President Trump has plenty of reasons to say and tweet falsities about these hot-button topics.

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