In his State of the Union address, the US president Donald Trump, showed that he has not wavered on the controversial border wall promise, which Democrats have declared a nonstarter.
After a 35-day government shutdown triggered by his demand for a border wall, the President once again called on Congress to fulfill his request for border security, including a wall, and flicked to the next government funding deadline in 10 days.
Trump framed the border wall as a moral issue that should be addressed. “Now is the time for 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 said.
He also indicated that he had deployed additional troops to the border and once again called attention to the latest caravan of migrants making its way toward the United States, drawing hoots of disapproval from Democrats, as reported by CNN.
Trump also accused some Mexican cities of providing means of transport to undocumented immigrants to the southern US border. He did not give any evidence.
“Tens and thousands of Americans are killed by lethal drugs that cross our border and flood into our cities, including meth, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl,” claimed the president while stating that countless Americans were killed by “criminal illegal aliens”.
Fact check: President Trump makes an inaccurate connection between El Paso's crime rate and the wall https://t.co/fEsT1nYk16 pic.twitter.com/qs6Rpz4WUH
— CNN (@CNN) February 6, 2019
“In the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall, but the proper wall never got built. I will get it built,” Trump said. “Simply put, walls work and walls save lives. So let’s work together, compromise, and reach a deal that will truly make America safe.”
While taking another jab at the Democrats, he said “An economic miracle is taking place in the United States and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations.”
This year’s State of the Union was delayed by a week due to the shutdown.