Transcript: Trump's Address On Border Security And Democratic Response
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
In a prime-time address from the Oval Office, President Trump argued there is a " crisis of the heart " when it comes to border security. He pressed Congress yet again to pass $5.7 billion for the U.S.-Mexico border, a demand Democrats have refused.
After his remarks, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., voiced their objections . They urged the president to "re-open the government," which has been partially shuttered since Dec. 22, and to "separate the shutdown from the arguments over border security."
Read the full transcripts from both the president and the Democratic leaders below. You can read a fact check of the remarks here .
My fellow Americans: Tonight, I am speaking to you because there is a growing humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border.
Every day, Customs and Border Patrol agents encounter thousands of illegal immigrants trying to enter our country. We are out of space to hold them, and we have no way to promptly return them back home to their country.
America proudly welcomes millions of lawful immigrants who enrich our society and contribute to our nation. But all Americans are hurt by uncontrolled, illegal migration. It strains public resources and drives down jobs and wages. Among those hardest hit are African Americans and Hispanic Americans.
Our southern border is a pipeline for vast quantities of illegal drugs, including meth, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl. Every week, 300 of our citizens are killed by heroin alone, 90 percent of which floods across from our southern border. More Americans will die from drugs this year than were killed in the entire Vietnam War.
In the last two years, ICE officers made 266,000 arrests of aliens with criminal records, including those charged or convicted of 100,000 assaults, 30,000 sex crimes, and 4,000 violent killings. Over the years, thousands of Americans have been brutally killed by those who illegally entered our country, and thousands more lives will be lost if we don't act right now.
This is a humanitarian crisis — a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul.
Last month, 20,000 migrant children were illegally brought into the United States — a dramatic increase. These children are used as human pawns by vicious coyotes and ruthless gangs. One in three women are sexually assaulted on the dangerous trek up through Mexico. Women and children are the biggest victims, by far, of our broken system.
This is the tragic reality of illegal immigration on our southern border. This is the cycle of human suffering that I am determined to end.
My administration has presented Congress with a detailed proposal to secure the border and stop the criminal gangs, drug smugglers, and human traffickers. It's a tremendous problem. Our proposal was developed by law enforcement professionals and border agents at the Department of Homeland Security. These are the resources they have requested to properly perform their mission and keep America safe. In fact, safer than ever before.
The proposal from Homeland Security includes cutting-edge technology for detecting drugs, weapons, illegal contraband, and many other things. We have requested more agents, immigration judges, and bed space to process the sharp rise in unlawful migration fueled by our very strong economy. Our plan also contains an urgent request for humanitarian assistance and medical support.
Furthermore, we have asked Congress to close border security loopholes so that illegal immigrant children can be safely and humanely returned back home.
Finally, as part of an overall approach to border security, law enforcement professionals have requested $5.7 billion for a physical barrier. At the request of Democrats, it will be a steel barrier rather than a concrete wall. This barrier is absolutely critical to border security. It's also what our professionals at the border want and need. This is just common sense.
T he border wall would very quickly pay for itself. The cost of illegal drugs exceeds $500 billion a year — vastly more than the $5.7 billion we have requested from Congress. The wall will also be paid for, indirectly, by the great new trade deal we have made with Mexico.
Senator Chuck Schumer — who you will be hearing from later tonight — has repeatedly supported a physical barrier in the past, along with many other Democrats. They changed their mind only after I was elected President.
Democrats in Congress have refused to acknowledge the crisis. And they have refused to provide our brave border agents with the tools they desperately need to protect our families and our nation.
The federal government remains shut down for one reason and one reason only: because Democrats will not fund border security.
My administration is doing everything in our power to help those impacted by the situation. But the only solution is for Democrats to pass a spending bill that defends our borders and re-opens the government.
This situation could be solved in a 45-minute meeting. I have invited Congressional leadership to the White House tomorrow to get this done. Hopefully, we can rise above partisan politics in order to support national security.
Some have suggested a barrier is immoral. Then why do wealthy politicians build walls, fences, and gates around their homes? They don't build walls because they hate the people on the outside, but because they love the people on the inside. The only thing that is immoral is the politicians to do nothing and continue to allow more innocent people to be so horribly victimized.
America's heart broke the day after Christmas when a young police officer in California was savagely murdered in cold blood by an illegal alien, who just came across the border. The life of an American hero was stolen by someone who had no right to be in our country.
Day after day, precious lives are cut short by those who have violated our borders. In California, an Air Force veteran was raped, murdered, and beaten to death with a hammer by an illegal alien with a long criminal history. In Georgia, an illegal alien was recently charged with murder for killing, beheading, and dismembering his neighbor. In Maryland, MS-13 gang members who arrived in the United States as unaccompanied minors were arrested and charged last year after viciously stabbing and beating a 16-year-old girl.
Over the last several years, I've met with dozens of families whose loved ones were stolen by illegal immigration. I've held the hands of the weeping mothers and embraced the grief-stricken fathers. So sad. So terrible. I will never forget the pain in their eyes, the tremble in their voices, and the sadness gripping their souls.
How much more American blood must we shed before Congress does its job?
To those who refuse to compromise in the name of border security, I would ask: Imagine if it was your child, your husband, or your wife whose life was so cruelly shattered and totally broken?
To every member of Congress: Pass a bill that ends this crisis.
To every citizen: Call Congress and tell them to finally, after all of these decades, secure our border.
This is a choice between right and wrong, justice and injustice. This is about whether we fulfill our sacred duty to the American citizens we serve.
When I took the Oath of Office, I swore to protect our country. And that is what I will always do, so help me God.
Thank you and goodnight.
Pelosi: Good evening. I appreciate the opportunity to speak directly to the American people tonight about how we can end this shutdown and meet the needs of the American people.
Sadly, much of what we have heard from President Trump throughout this senseless shutdown has been full of misinformation and even malice.
The President has chosen fear. We want to start with the facts.
The fact is: On the very first day of this Congress, House Democrats passed Senate Republican legislation to re-open government and fund smart, effective border security solutions.
But the President is rejecting these bipartisan bills which would re-open government – over his obsession with forcing American taxpayers to waste billions of dollars on an expensive and ineffective wall – a wall he always promised Mexico would pay for!
The fact is: President Trump has chosen to hold hostage critical services for the health, safety and well-being of the American people and withhold the paychecks of 800,000 innocent workers across the nation – many of them veterans.
He promised to keep government shutdown for 'months or years' – no matter whom it hurts. That's just plain wrong.
The
fact is: We all agree we need to secure our borders, while honoring our values: we can build the infrastructure and roads at our ports of entry; we can install new technology to scan cars and trucks for drugs coming into our nation; we can hire the personnel we need to facilitate trade and immigration at the border; we can fund more innovation to detect unauthorized crossings.
The fact is: the women and children at the border are not a security threat, they are a humanitarian challenge – a challenge that President Trump's own cruel and counterproductive policies have only deepened.
And the fact is: President Trump must stop holding the American people hostage, must stop manufacturing a crisis, and must re-open the government.
Thank you. Leader Schumer.
Schumer: Thank you, Speaker Pelosi.
My fellow Americans, we address you tonight for one reason only: the President of the United States – having failed to get Mexico to pay for his ineffective, unnecessary border wall, and unable to convince the Congress or the American people to foot the bill – has shut down the government.
American democracy doesn't work that way. We don't govern by temper tantrum. No president should pound the table and demand he gets his way or else the government shuts down, hurting millions of Americans who are treated as leverage.
Tonight – and throughout this debate and throughout his presidency – President Trump has appealed to fear, not facts. Division, not unity.
Make no mistake: Democrats and the President both want stronger border security. However, we sharply disagree with the President about the most effective way to do it.
So, how do we untangle this mess?
There is an obvious solution: separate the shutdown from the arguments over border security. There is bipartisan legislation – supported by Democrats and Republicans – to re-open government while allowing debate over border security to continue.
There is no excuse for hurting millions of Americans over a policy difference. Federal workers are about to miss a paycheck. Some families can't get a mortgage to buy a new home. Farmers and small businesses won't get loans they desperately need.
Most presidents have used Oval Office addresses for noble purposes. This president just used the backdrop of the Oval Office to manufacture a crisis, stoke fear, and divert attention from the turmoil in his Administration.
My fellow Americans, there is no challenge so great that our nation cannot rise to meet it. We can re-open the government and continue to work through disagreements about policy. We can secure our border without an expensive, ineffective wall. And we can welcome legal immigrants and refugees without compromising safety and security.
The symbol of America should be the Statue of Liberty, not a thirty-foot wall.
So our suggestion is a simple one: Mr. President, re-open the government and we can work to resolve our differences over border security. But end this shutdown now.
Thank you.
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A President to fix an immigration problem vs two congressional leaders who have been in congress as long as the problem has existed. Schumer since 1981 and Pelosi since 1987. President Reagan gave amnesty in return for border security in 1986 and we still haven't got the border security.
The question is why?
Is it because
A) democrats hate Trump and won't give in on his key campaign promise?
B) democrats have abandoned middle America in favor of a new migrant voter?
C) All of the above
A President who wants to fix a 21st century immigration problem using a failed 17th century solution.
A) Polls and surveys show that a large majority of Americans don't like Trump, not just Democrats.
B) Or is it that Democrats feel ALL people should get a chance and be treated humanely, even those from "shit hole" countries?
Please give examples of these failures.....Keep in mind the President is asking for more than just a wall.....
First, no he isn't. He was already offered bi-partisan money for border security, he turned it down because it didn't include wall money.
Second, since you appear too afraid to look for yourself.
The World Is Full of Walls That Don’t Work
Why would Donald Trump want to build another one?
WHAT HISTORY TELLS US ABOUT BUILDING A WALL TO SOLVE A PROBLEM
10 Infamous Barrier Walls Throughout History
Great Wall of China's troubled history offers lessons for Trump, scholars say
Actually, it is right on the WH Website what he has already done .....and it is more than just a wall.....Criticizing his solution as a "17th century solution" because it includes a wall is like being critical of the Large Hadron Collider because it is shaped the same as a wheel.....
The left wants to do everything it can ....to Appear to be securing the border.....but the fact of the matter is ....they want "solutions" that don't impede immigrants for setting foot on American soil.....They also don't want anything that is hard to take away once Trump is out of office.....
Great points.....but I think they know that a wall would be effective in ways that sensors and drones can not.......like stopping people from setting foot on American soil in the first place.....
One of your own links had this in it......
bwah ha ha ha, plaques of the 2 biggest KKK states on that wall. coincidence? nope.
A barricade, used in strategic locations, is a totally different animal than a 2000 mile wall. Barricades are very helpful if used in places where common sense dictates.
What's your point? That a limited fence, a fraction of the size of Trump's, helps in a very specific area? Of all the ones listed, you could only find 1 example of a small barricade working?
What the fuck are you talking about? Your comparison doesn't even make sense.
Are you saying that everyone is against Trump's wall just because it looks like a wall, not because it is overly expensive and will not accomplish anything close to making the cost worthwhile?
It's 140 Miles long....and just about every example you cited....the wall served it's purpose (keeping unwanted people out) until it was damaged or destroyed.....
Your comparison doesn't make sense .....calling Trumps Border security plan ....a "17th century solution"......I don't think they had drones and equipment to see into cargo containers in the 17th Century.....My point is ....Much of todays cutting edge technology uses and relies on "Old Technology"......Modern day cars would be nothing without the wheel.....
I'm saying that 80% of the people against Trump's wall are against Trump, and don't pay attention or give a shit past that.
If it's a failed solution why do people and countries keep building them? The answer is obvious: because they work. Do they solve all problems? No. Do they keep out 100% of people? No. And no one is claiming they do. But they are very effective. Please stop saying they don't work. The triple fence at San Diego reduced illegal crossings in that area by 90%. You can't call that a failure.
I like how the picture of a wall that didn't work is the Berlin Wall. That wall worked magnificently well. Otherwise, there would have been no need or desire to tear it down. There would have been no joy in its destruction. There would have been no reason for President Reagan to call on Mr. Gorbachev to tear it down.
The only reason your article claims it didn't work is because they assigned new purpose to it for their story.
Which it did. In spades.
It wasn't supposed to do any of that. It can't fail for not doing something it wasn't designed to do.
This is moving the goalposts, as the debate kids like to say. And opponents of Trump's wall keep doing the same thing. For example, they protest that the wall will not stop visa overstays.
Yeah! It's not designed for that. It's designed to stop people from just strolling over the border unchecked. It will be great at that.
Show me where I said they NEVER work or admit that you are a LIAR!
That's not Trump's plan, that is the plan that Congress offered to pay for. Trump turned them down because his stupid wall wasn't included.
With 80% of the people against Trump, I guess you can no longer claim he will win re-election.
I've gotten flat tires, but keep buying them, and Goodrich keeps making them.
How many countries have built over a thousand miles of wall, you made the claim they are doing it, document...?
Trump has claimed it will solve the illegal immigration, drug, and human trafficking problems. Did he lie?
And if you put a detour around a section of road, it will stop cars from driving on that section 100% of the time. Does that mean fewer people are driving cars, or does it mean more people are GOING AROUND the detour?
I never thought he could get elected in the first place. Nothing surprises me at this point.
But there is no denying the existence of some substantial number of very silly liberals who, if Barack Obama had suggested the wall, would be calling anyone who opposed it racist. To be fair, there is some substantial number of very silly wall supporters who would change their tune had it been Obama's suggestion.
Their thought process begins and ends with identity politics, because they're really not capable of anything more.
Dude, there is no way I can twist enough to even understand your logic on this claim? Only successful walls are torn down???????
Do you understand the difference between figurative and literal?
Literal vs. Figurative Language
Was it the wall, or the guys guarding the wall with machines and no problem with using them?
So it wasn't suppose to stop the flood of immigrants from a repressive, authoritarian regime (much like some South American Countries, striving for a better life in America)???? Isn't that suppose to be what Trump's wall is for????
You just argued that Trump's wall will not do what you want it to do.
Trump has had 2 years of a completely Republican controlled Congress. There is no way anyone can blame the Democrats for not getting funding for the wall prior to 1/2/2019.
I will grant you that. I would argue that those people will be a vast minority, but they would exist.
75% of Americans are against Trump's wall.
80% are claimed to be against Trump himself.
..........................
U.S. Population = appr. 326,000,000
75% against the wall = 244,500,00
80% of 75% were claimed to be against Trump = 195,600,000
..........................
In 2016 Trump won the election with only 59,705,000 votes.
..........................
I stand by my statement.
Well spotted. I have wondered about that. Why would you wait on your signature campaign promise until you didn't have the muscle to make it happen? Seems like poor planning to me.
I also thought we'd get an infrastructure bill the size of Trump's ego. Seems to me, you pass that first so it has time to make everybody a little wealthier before the next election.
Needless to say, they didn't ask me.
I dunno. It's tough to get an actual body count of brain dead morons on either side.
Dude. You're smarter than that.
The Berlin Wall was exceedingly effective for a very long time.
trump had what he wanted and he threw it away. He is the only one at fault.
This was a more comprehensive bill, it included more than a wall.
Funny that now the conservatives are screaming about border security yet ignore any other aspect except a wall.
The Berlin wall was also armed to the teeth with orders to shoot to kill.
I would argue that that wall was more to keep people in than out.
So, it's your position that tires are a failed technology?
I never made any claims about the length of anyone's wall.
Did he? Did he cite those problems and say we need to build a wall as a response? It is very easy for you to find - with very little effort - many examples of Trump calling for several solutions to immigration problems. I don't not ever recall him saying the wall was the only thing we needed to be doing.
It's not that complicated. People wanted the wall torn down, because it very effectively prevented people going from one place to another.
Is there a point?
Both. The wall slows people down and makes it easier to catch or kill them. Do you really not understand how these things work?
That's not what your article is saying. The writer is claiming the wall was a failure because it did nothing to solve the political and economic problems of East Germany. No wall can do that and no one has ever claimed one could.
It seems to be the only thing he is asking for right now.
democrats hate Trump and won't give in on his key campaign promise
His key campaign promise was to make Mexico pay for it. But you [Deleted] don't give a rat's patootie that he never had any intention of making Mexico pay. He told all of you what you wanted to hear and y'all bought it hook, line, and sinker just like y'all buy into all of his lies. Why should the Dems approve money for a wall to further fund his lies?
The President dosen't want a 2,000 mile wall. Five Billion will take care of about 200 miles. So what is the all out objection to a wall?
It obviously was. And it worked - A degenerate Communist regime was able to keep an advanced nation divided with a wall
as soon as Mexico cuts a check for $5.7 billion, trump can have his fucking useless wall
If Trump get's his wall and he leaves office without Mexico paying for it.......then you have a legitimate complaint.....Never mind that we have been paying for not having a wall for decades.....but the left doesn't seem to care about that fact....They only see Potential Voters and Ultimately.......Power....and thus far it is working for them......so I understand why the left is so adamant about having border control that doesn't impede migrants from setting foot on our Soil.....They know that as soon as they step foot in America.....The game completely changes......and that is what they are taking advantage of .........As for me......I'm tired of watching this Nation being taken advantage of.
stop voting for corporate ass-lickers then
full election contribution transparency with a 100% tax on any political contributions over $250 and 100% tax on all lobbyist's political contributions would fund that third party and end 2 party political gridlock, and fix the wagons of corporate citizens and tax exempt PACs
LOL! That's a good one.....Most if not all take some form of corporate money....I guess you don't vote.
What about the 600+ miles of fencing that Democrats paid to paid up in the last decade? Is that useless as well? Should we be demanding it be torn down? Should we be getting a refund from Nancy Pelosi?
How convenient.
Sounds like all Pelosi and her sidekick Schumer are for, is Making "Legal-Ports-of-entry" a posh Hilton hotel.
Now how 'bout those other places that actually have an "Issue" "bot" Nancy and "Cry me a river" Chucky ?
Any thoughts there ?
Sure , lack of making a comment with a whole lot of blah blah blah proves the conservatives have no intention of trying to work by reality instead of false propaganda
That whole thing last night was 20 minutes of time wasted I'll never get back. There was nothing said on either side that hasn't been reported ad nasum. Listening to Trump read is worse than 9th grade speech class.
I thought they all made decent points.
I'm surprised.
The reason the left wants other types of border security but not a wall is because they can't knock the wall down once they regain the Presidency. All the other types of border security rely on continued funding so it's easy for them to cut funding and reopen the border. They don't want a wall because a wall is permanent and it will make the border patrols jobs easier and cheaper in the long run.
trump isn't getting his wall until he figures out how to make those that have given illegal immigrants jobs will pay for it
We have all been paying for Not having a wall for decades.....so spare us the concern for who's paying for it......
he can sell his fucking chinese made MAGA hats for $10K each to pay for it
He already donates his salary......but it's never enough ....is it?
BTW.....The Hats that he sells are made in America.....
probably made by illegal immigrants then
Source?
Source?
have trump drop his boxers and bend over to see that source
In other words.....you don't have a source.....just hatred for the President .....Got it.
Wasn't it Obama that wanted Putin to know that after the election he could be....."More Flexible"?
Compared to what Trump has done......Obama's "Sanctions" were a slap on the wrist.....Obama sent humanitarian aid to the Ukraine .....Trump sent anti-tank missiles.....
they're waiting until late February to start denying that, or when Don Jr switches from hair gel to lube for the convenience of his new room mates
false
Hum I see a bunch of false statements there. Shame on you
Comedy:
At least the media doesn't even pretend to be objective anymore
false BTW what was your tag on NV
Closed until we can get some moderation