Homeland Security says Middle Easterners are traveling in Mexico to U.S.

The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that people from Middle Eastern countries and elsewhere are "currently traveling through Mexico toward the U.S," and that "gang members" and people with "significant criminal histories" are in the caravan of Central Americans traveling through Mexico, according to a series of tweets from spokesperson Tyler Houlton Tuesday afternoon.

Why it matters: President Trump has claimed, without previously citing evidence, there are bad actors and people from the Middle East in the caravan. DHS has not yet responded to Axios' request to confirm that those people from other countries were traveling with the caravan. A department official said they could not release the data behind their confirmations as it "is law enforcement sensitive."