AUSTIN, Texas — The migrant caravan has split up into smaller groups in Mexico City but the goal is the same: reach American soil.

During an education night on Austin’s east side, immigration rights advocates discussed the topic of the Central American crisis, and its roots.

Declassified documents from the CIA show then-President Dwight Eisenhower approved a coup in Guatemala back in 1954.

Many feel American intervention set the stage for generational dictatorships, which in turn led to mass poverty.

“I would say that it’s very important to know the history of Central America, because it’s directly tied to the history of the United States,” Jose 'Chencho' Alas of the Foundation for Sustainability and Peacemaking in Mesoamerica said.

Immigration attorneys say anyone is entitled to ask for asylum but the process is expensive and many are turned away.