President Trump has threatened to shut down the border with Mexico over illegal immigration if Congress fails to fund his proposed wall.
….The United States looses soooo much money on Trade with Mexico under NAFTA, over 75 Billion Dollars a year (not including Drug Money which would be many times that amount), that I would consider closing the Southern Border a “profit making operation.” We build a Wall or…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2018
“Either we build (finish) the Wall or we close the Border,” the US president tweeted after nearly a week of deadlock in Washington over the federal budget.
Migrants from Honduras tried to enter the US illegally on Thursday by jumping a border fence
…..close the Southern Border. Bring our car industry back into the United States where it belongs. Go back to pre-NAFTA, before so many of our companies and jobs were so foolishly sent to Mexico. Either we build (finish) the Wall or we close the Border……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2018
The BBC reports,
Confirming the threat to close the border was real, the White House said negotiations with Congress had stalled.
The dispute has caused a partial US government shutdown.
Hundreds of thousands of federal employees are either on unpaid leave or continue to work but do not know when they will be paid.
Both Congress chambers met for just a few minutes on Thursday but took no steps to end the closure. The House and Senate will now meet again on Monday.
Later in the week, a new House will be sworn in, dominated by opposition Democrats who won the mid-term elections last month, but Mr Trump’s Republicans will retain the Senate with a slightly larger majority.
In October Mr Trump made a similar threat to close the southern US border when demanding action from Latin American governments to stop migrants, in what has become known as the caravan, trying to cross into the US illegally.
“We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with,” he tweeted on Friday.
…..Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are doing nothing for the United States but taking our money. Word is that a new Caravan is forming in Honduras and they are doing nothing about it. We will be cutting off all aid to these 3 countries – taking advantage of U.S. for years!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2018
He is seeking $5bn (£4bn) to cover the cost of the wall but Democrats and some within Mr Trump’s own party insist they will not approve it.
He also promised to cut off “all aid” to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, where many recent migrants have come from.
The president’s acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, confirmed that the Trump administration was willing to shut down the southern border.
He said negotiations with Congress had “completely shut down” and suggested the Democrats were more interested in seeing Nancy Pelosi elected speaker of the House than they were in the border.
