A new migrant caravan is preparing to leave Honduras, as President Donald Trump pushes ahead with his government shutdown in a bid to secure funding for a US border wall.

The caravan, which migrant rights advocates estimate could include 15,000 participants, more than double the size of the previous caravan, is said to be preparing to leave Honduras from the city of San Pedro Sula on January 15.

A few hundred migrants began the long walk from Honduras to the US in October 2018 but had swelled to around 7,000 people by the time it reached the US-Mexico border in November. Attempts to cross the border this week were met with rounds of tear gas by US border guards, many of whom have gone without…