Trump Emphasizes Need for Border Wall; Democratic Leaders Call for Government Reopening

The President of the United States, during a televised speech aired on January 8, once again urged Congress members to allocate $5.7 billion for the construction of a wall at the border with Mexico; Democratic leaders have criticized Trump and called for the reopening of federal offices. Donald Trump stated in his live speech that "the southern borders are facing increasing humanitarian and security crises." He reiterated that human trafficking and drug smuggling are ongoing at the southern borders, which "endangers the lives of many American citizens." Trump claims his intention is to make "the United States safer than ever before." He stated that "the wall, or barriers that could be concrete or steel, must be built" and that these barriers are essential at the U.S.-Mexico border. According to reports, the U.S. President is also considering the possibility of declaring a national emergency, which would allow him to fund the wall without congressional approval, using funds from elsewhere. However, declaring a national emergency for the wall has faced criticism, with opponents arguing it could lead to legal issues. In any case, Trump has refrained from declaring a state of emergency for now. The President is scheduled to visit the southern U.S. border on Thursday, and according to Reuters, it is unclear whether he intends to declare an emergency there or not. Democrats argue that Trump is exaggerating the situation at the borders and the crisis caused by immigrants, accusing him of using federal employees, who are currently furloughed, as leverage to build the wall. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House, responded to Trump in a televised statement, saying that what the President depicts as a "crisis" at the southern borders is an artificial image he has created. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader in the Senate, has also called for the reopening of the government and a return to negotiations over border security. The U.S. government shut down on December 22 after the Republican and Democratic parties in the Senate failed to reach an agreement on funding Trump's requested resources for building the wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump has emphasized since the beginning of the government shutdown that the wall must be built and the necessary budget must be approved. On January 7, he warned that if Congress members do not approve the budget for the border wall, he will completely close the southern border. At that time, it was clear that the disagreements between Democrats and Republicans would continue and extend into 2019. After the new year, representatives who recently won in the U.S. midterm elections entered Congress; consequently, while disagreements continued, the majority in the House of Representatives became Democratic. The House of Representatives and the Senate together form the U.S. legislative body known as Congress. The requested budget for the border wall is over $5 billion. Democrats oppose allocating this budget and call for a smaller budget and strengthening surveillance equipment instead of building the wall. However, Trump and supporters of the wall idea argue that without it, "real security at the borders cannot be achieved." Donald Trump describes the security situation at the southern borders as "dangerous" and states that there is a possibility of a "severe disaster." Some polls indicate that public sentiment regarding the wall construction and government shutdown is not very positive. For example, a recent poll published by Reuters and Ipsos shows that 51% of American citizens believe that "most of the blame" for the government shutdown lies with the White House, while 32% blame Democrats and 7% blame Republicans in Congress. Nevertheless, around 41% of citizens still demand more barriers and fences at the border with Mexico. However, this percentage has decreased by 12% compared to 2015, based on Reuters/Ipsos polls. Building the wall at the Mexican border was one of Donald Trump's key campaign promises in the 2016 elections. The shutdown of parts of the U.S. government has forced about 800,000 government employees to work without pay or not show up for work due to lack of funding. However, this is not the first time the U.S. government has shut down, as this has occurred multiple times during the presidencies of both Democratic and Republican members. A government shutdown occurs when a federal budget bill or a temporary budget fails to pass Congress, or when the President refuses to sign such bills for various reasons. As a result, parts of the federal government, except for agencies and organizations providing essential and vital services, such as police, fire services, federal medical services, and similar, are shut down. Since 1976, there have been more than 20 instances where there has been a gap between the deadline and the approval of the budget, although not all of them have resulted in furloughs for federal employees.