President Trump accused Democrats and politicians that do not support his border wall Friday of putting “criminal aliens” before American citizens.
“American politicians should protect American citizens, not criminal aliens,” Trump said Friday at an event in Kansas City. “Not one more American life should be stolen because of radical politicians pursuing their open borders agenda.”
As he did earlier this week, the president argued the border wall would pay for itself by stopping drugs and illegal immigrants from entering the nation. To make the point, Trump compared the cost of constructing the border wall to the cost of the flow of illegal heroin.
“Nearly 100 percent of the heroin in our country comes across the southern border, killing at least 300 Americans, at least, a week,” Trump said. “According to the Council of Economic Advisers, this illegal heroin costs our country $238 billion in 2016 alone. We are talking about a wall for $20 billion, $15 billion. We can even do it cheaper.”
The president is asking Congress to approve $5 billion in border wall funding before both chambers head home for Christmas. But Senate Democrats are unwilling to give the president any more than $1.6 billion for the border wall, a disagreement that has raised fears of a possible partial government shutdown. Any final agreement likely hinges on a deal being struck between the president and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is adamant, along with members of his conference, that he will not budge.
Trump has long argued that the border wall would pay for itself, either by having the Mexican government pay directly, or through stopping the flow of illegal immigration and drugs at the border. The president kicked off the week warning Congress that if Democrats did not get behind his request for $5 billion, he would shut down the southern U.S.-Mexico border.
The president signed a bill to keep the government funded through Dec. 21, staving off a government shutdown that would have otherwise occurred Saturday.
House lawmakers approved the spending bill at around noon Thursday, passing it off to the Senate, where it cleared the upper chamber less than an hour later. The bill extends 2018 government spending levels for a total of seven appropriation packages that fund roughly 25 percent of the federal government.
