After Shutdown Threat Trump Demands Border Changes and ‘The Wall’

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President Donald Trump on Monday called for increasing border security and overhauling the U.S. immigration system a day after he threatened to shut down the federal government if it were necessary to do that in order for him to get his way and to get Congress to pass the legislation he wants.

The president tweeted on Monday morning:

“We must have Border Security, get rid of Chain, Lottery, Catch & Release Sanctuary Cities – go to Merit based Immigration. Protect ICE and Law Enforcement and, of course, keep building, but much faster, THE WALL!”

Trump’s comments on immigration law came the day after he announced via Twitter that he would be willing to “shut down” the government if Democratic lawmakers did not agree to his demands on border security and changes to immigration laws. He also made clear that any bill he approved would have to include building his long-promised (but very unpopular) wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“I would be willing to “shut down” government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall! Must get rid of Lottery, Catch & Release etc. and finally go to system of Immigration based on MERIT! We need great people coming into our Country!”

Trump has often demanded an end to both family-based immigration, which he refers to as “chain migration,” and the so-called “diversity visa lottery” program both of which increase the number of legal immigrants to the U.S.

The difficulty is that Congress is running up against a deadline in September for agreeing upon and passing a new spending bill. Even if Congress can agree among themselves and pass spending legislation, the president must also agree since he has to sign it into law.

If Trump allows the government to shut down it will be the second time this year. It also happened in January because of a very heated disagreement about protections for beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which Trump rescinded last year. He could have unilaterally extended the DACA program but did not, so he now blames Congress for not coming up with a deal for the so-called Dreamers who have participated in the DACA program with the understanding that they could stay in the United States.

Trump has in recent months been heavily criticized for his “zero-tolerance” immigration policy, which arrests and prosecutes people who enter the U.S. without proper documentation, leading to thousand of children being separated from their parents.

The truth is that the majority of the American people do not support Donald Trump’s immigration policies, including the zero tolerance policy and the border wall with Mexico. His most recent tweets are nothing more than his lame attempts to look tough for his anti-immigrant base of supporters. If he shuts down the government it would be a disaster before the midterm elections.

Donald Trump won’t shut down the government, he won’t bully Congress into meeting his demands, and he won’t get “The Wall.” Donald Trump is a failure as a president and his days in office are numbered.

Maxine Waters had it right.

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Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.