Prior to President Donald Trump's address to the nation Saturday afternoon regarding a deal proposition for a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border, he said walls help reduce illegal immigration, drugs and human trafficking. The president went on to say a wall in San Antonio helped lower its crime rate.
There's one glaring problem, though, There's no wall around San Antonio, which is about 150 miles from Mexico — not even close enough to be considered a border town by Texas standards.
"You look at different places, they put up a wall, no problem," Trump said. "You look at San Antonio, you look at so many different places, they go from one of the most unsafe cities in the country to one of the safest, immediately. Immediately. It works. We have to put them up, and we will put them up. We've got to."
The president ran his 2016 campaign with a promise of building a wall along the southern border. When he wanted the $5.7 billion wall as part of a short-term spending bill in December, the Democrats said no, which sent the government into a partial shutdown on Dec. 22. Now in its 29th day, this shutdown is the longest in U.S. history.
President Trump was most recently in Texas last week when he visited border agents in the town of McAllen. He toured locales along the border and had extensive meetings with local, state and federal officials, stressing a need for border wall funding.
Saturday's statement about San Antonio also comes one week after former San Antonio Democrat Mayor Julian Castro announced his presidential bid for 2020.
President Trump offered immigration compromises in exchange for border wall funding. His proposal from the White House on Saturday includes three-year extensions for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) — in exchange for a border wall.
The president's immigration proposals are only temporary — and not a pathway to citizenship — which is a main reason the Democrats won't approve.
Republican Senate leaders have already said they will introduce legislation next week that backs the president's proposal to open the government. Democrats have already mentioned they will not look at proposals until the government is first reopened, most likely continuing a political stalemate while some 800,000 federal workers remain furloughed and working without paychecks.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Scott McDonald is a Newsweek deputy night editor based in Cape Coral, Florida. His focus is assigning and writing stories ... Read more
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