President Trump is keeping “all options on the table” in regards to securing the southern border with Mexico, a White House official said on Wednesday, reinforcing Trump’s threats earlier this week to close the border if more isn’t done to stop illegal immigration.
The White House is partly blaming Congress for not giving Trump enough room to move in securing the border.
“President Trump is encouraged by the new cooperation we’ve seen from Mexico, which at this point has been more helpful at addressing this emergency than congressional Democrats,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said Wednesday. “But this dangerous crisis has to be ultimately addressed by Congress, and if it’s not, the president has been clear that all options remain on the table to secure the border and protect the American people.”
[Related: Sarah Sanders: Democrats leaving Trump ‘no choice’ in Mexico border closure dispute]
Inside the White House, officials are assessing different options to close down the border, including shutting down certain ports of entry, a partial shutdown of all ports of entry, or closing every port entirely. A White House official, who spoke to Bloomberg under anonymity, said the discussions are picking up steam as Trump grows frustrated with the lack of congressional action on securing the border and the unwillingness by Mexico and other Central American countries to deter migrant caravans from making it all the way to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump told reporters Tuesday that the U.S. will either have a “strong border” or a “closed border.”
“Mexico is now stopping people coming in … let’s see if they keep it up,” Trump said. “If they don’t or if we don’t make a deal with Congress, the border’s going to be closed. A hundred percent,” he said.
The State Department also announced it would cut aid to the “Northern Triangle” countries in Central America — El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala — whose citizens make up many of the caravans that have traveled north with the intention of claiming asylum at the U.S. border.
The president declared a national emergency at the border in February after Congress refused to grant him his requested funding for a border wall. The declaration allowed Trump to bypass Congress and redirect federal dollars for the wall, but also prompted a legal challenge from 16 states.
