Trump threatens to close US border
US President tweets threat, over not getting money he wants to build the wall that would so please his voter base
The unpredictable president of the US continues to fight his own congress about budgets, prolonging the partial government shutdown currently underway. On twitter, his favourite venting platform, he complained of not getting his way and said “we will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with” [sic]. The partial shutdown affects a quarter of government agencies and began with the disagreement over the financing of the wall with Mexico, one Trump’s election promises. According to the president, closing the border would be a “profit making operation” and benefit the US due to losses from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), in effect since 1994. “We build the wall or we close the southern border.”
The shutdown of the US administration will most likely continue into 2019 due to the distance between the negotiating positions of the White House and the Democrats in opposition. Trump wants $5 billion from Congress, but so far Democrats have only been willing to allocate $1.3 billion to border security, with restrictions that impede the construction of a wall. Hundreds of thousands of federal government workers have either stopped going to work or continue to do so without knowing when they will be paid. The two Houses of Congress - the House of Representatives and the Senate - met last Thursday but found no common ground to advance talks, and will meet again on Monday. Next week, a new House, dominated by the Democrats, who won the November midterm elections, will be inaugurated, whilst Republicans will keep control of the Senate, throwing more uncertainty at the issue.