President Trump on Tuesday vowed to built a wall on the southern border, despite ongoing opposition from congressional Democrats who are refusing to give him any funding for it.
“In the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall — but the proper wall never got built,” he said in his State of the Union address in the House chamber Tuesday night. “I will get it built.
“Simply put, walls work, and walls save lives,” he added.
Trump didn’t go as far as saying he would declare an emergency to take control of the funds he needs to build the wall. But Trump has said he would take that step if Congress fails to act by next week.
[Read more: ‘A WALL is a WALL’: Trump mocks Congress for talking about fences, barriers]
In the meantime, Trump pleaded his case before a split Congress and called on them to unite around the idea of tougher border security.
“This is a moral issue,” Trump said. “The lawless state of our southern border is a threat to the safety, security, and financial well‑being of all Americans. We have a moral duty to create an immigration system that protects the lives and jobs of our citizens.”
“Now is the time for the Congress to show the world that America is committed to ending illegal immigration and putting the ruthless coyotes, cartels, drug dealers, and human traffickers out of business,” he added.
The president pointed to his official guests in the crowd that he said were real-life symbols of the “tolerance” the country’s current laws show those in the country illegally.
One guest, Debra Bissell, lost her parents last month after they were fatally shot by a burglar who was also an illegal immigrant. Bissell and two family members were in the balcony Tuesday night.
“To Debra, Heather, Madison, please stand. Few can understand your pain. But I will never forget, and I will fight for the memory of Gerald and Sharon, that it should never happen again,” Trump said.
Trump pointed to a caravan of 2,000 people who arrived at a Mexican border town that sits across from Eagle Pass, Texas, as a new threat to the country.
“As we speak, large, organized caravans are on the march to the United States. We have just heard that Mexican cities, in order to remove the illegal immigrants from their communities, are getting trucks and buses to bring them up to our country in areas where there is little border protection,” he said. “Tonight, I am asking you to defend our very dangerous southern border out of love and devotion to our fellow citizens and to our country.”
Democrats have defended the thousands of Central American migrants who have traveled as part of groups to the U.S., saying those seeking refuge are not illegal immigrants.
Many Republicans, including Trump, have called for asylum seekers to apply at the U.S. consulate in their country and not risk being rejected after applying at a port of entry.
Trump highlighted the White House proposal he made last month in return for $5.7 billion toward enhancing border security. The plan includes extensions of protections for recipients of the temporary protected status and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programs, as well as millions toward humanitarian assistance for the tens of thousands of people claiming asylum after illegally or legally entering the country each month.
Human traffickers and sex traffickers take advantage of the wide open areas between our ports of entry to smuggle thousands of young girls and women into the United States and to sell them into prostitution and modern-day slavery.
