Trump Now Says Congress Must Act To Keep Southern Border Open
President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on Congress to take action on immigration, placing the onus on Democrats to come to the table after he’d threatened to close the southern border over the increasing number of asylum seekers crossing into the US.
“Congress has to meet quickly and make a deal. I could do it in 45 minutes. We need to get rid of chain migration,” Trump said during an Oval Office press availability with Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
“We need to get rid of catch and release and visa lottery. And we have to do something about asylum. And to be honest with you, we have to get rid of judges,” the President continued, later explaining that he no longer wants to catch people trying to illegally cross the Southern border and “bring them to a court.”
Last week, the President threatened to close the southern border if Mexico did not begin apprehending more migrants attempting to come to the US. Trump acknowledged that Mexico had increased its apprehensions on Tuesday.
“They’ve made a big step over the last two days. They are apprehending people,” Trump said. “The fact that they’re doing that means fewer people are going to come.”
He also said he has “made (the) intention known” that if Mexico does not continue to apprehend more migrants attempting to cross into the US and if Congress does not reach a consensus on immigration, he’s “ready to close” the southern border of the US.
The President added that he’s “totally prepared” to close the southern border, “or we’re going to close large sections of it” despite economic consequences.
