The late President Ronald Reagan’s son, Michael Reagan, warned President Trump that he must act now if he wants to receive funding for a border wall, comments that came just before it was announced Trump would not sign a stopgap funding measure that did not include the $5 billion he’s requested for a border wall.
“Hey @POTUS in 1986 my father made a deal with the Democrats Amnesty for Border Security my father is still waiting,” Michael Reagan tweeted Thursday. “U have no choice its now or never..#BuildTheWallNow.”
Hey @POTUS in 1986 my father made a deal with the Democrats Amnesty for Border Security my father is still waiting.U have no choice its now or never..#BuildTheWallNow
— Michael Reagan (@ReaganWorld) December 20, 2018
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 allowed any illegal immigrants who had been in the U.S. since 1982 to receive temporary legal status and eventually become eligible for green cards if they learned English.
The legislation also attempted to boost border security by increasing funding for the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Border Patrol, although it did not call for a border wall. The measure also sought to crack down on illegal immigration by barring employers from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.
Since 1986, the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. has more than doubled from approximately 5 million to approximately 10.7 million as of 2016, Pew Research Center reports.
Trump has called for $5 billion for a border wall as part of a massive spending bill, but lawmakers in the Senate advanced a measure Wednesday that would keep the government open until February — and would delay securing funds for a border wall. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan announced Thursday that Trump would not sign off on it.
Shortly before Ryan’s statement, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders had said that Trump isn’t interested in a spending bill that doesn’t account for the wall. Trump said last week he would be “proud” of a government shutdown in exchange for border security.
