Trump clarifies soldiers would not fire at caravan

US President Donald Trump has clarified that soldiers deployed to stop illegal immigrants from entering the country would not open fire, but would arrest them if they throw stones at his troops.

Trumps comments on Friday come a day after he had suggested that the military deployed at the southwestern border with Mexico could fire on the caravan if people throw stones at the soldiers. His remarks was criticised by his political opponents and rights bodies.

Currently, an estimated 5,000-7,000 people from three Latin American countries --El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala -- are marching towards the US through Mexico. Trump has deployed more than 5,000 military personnel on the border to stop them from entering.

"No, they won't have to fire. What I don't want is: I don't want these people throwing rocks...," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked whether he was okay with the military firing on the caravan.

"What they did to the Mexican military is a disgrace. They hit them with rocks -- some were very seriously injured. And they were throwing rocks in their face.

"They do that with us, they're going to be arrested... That doesn't mean shoot them. But, we're going to arrest those people quickly and for a long period of time," Trump said.

The president insisted the changes he was making on asylum seekers through executive orders was legal. "It is the most ridiculous system in the world. It's obsolete, but that's not the problem. The problem is it's a stupid system. It doesn't work, and the Democrats and the Republicans should change it immediately.