It looks like President Trump may have finally reached his limit.
Will he completely close the southern border amidst the crisis?
It’s looking like it based on this recent Tweet:
Politico had this to say:
President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border, complaining that Mexico and several Central American countries were not doing enough to prevent the wave of migrants flooding north toward the U.S., an influx that border officials say is straining their resources.
“Mexico is doing NOTHING to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants to our Country. They are all talk and no action,” Trump tweeted. “Likewise, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have taken our money for years, and do Nothing. The Dems don’t care, such BAD laws. May close the Southern Border!”
The president’s threat and his renewed gripes about Mexico and so-called Northern Triangle governments come as the number of migrant families arrested at the border soared this month, putting immigration officials at what U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan called a “breaking point.”
McAleenan postponed an appearance before Congress on Wednesday to travel to the border, where he said the Border Patrol is on pace to arrest more than 55,000 family members in the month of March, a more than 500 percent increase over 2018 arrest levels.
Trump has previously accused Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador of misusing U.S. aid meant for improving conditions on the ground, aid intended to prevent migrants from wanting to come to the U.S. in the first place. In December, the president threatened to cut off that aid altogether.
POLITICO reported earlier this week that confusion over Trump’s tweets has created a logjam in the White House budget office, preventing that aid money from being dispersed.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen traveled to Honduras on Wednesday to address the issue, meeting with Northern Triangle government leaders. There, Nielsen announced what she called “a HISTORIC agreement to confront the root causes of the crisis on our border.”
Meanwhile, Hannity reports we're on pace for ONE MILLION illegal border crossings in 2019 alone:
Most recently, President Trump has said the closure of the border will occur NEXT WEEK if Mexico doesn't make immediate changes:
Here's more on the developing story, from Fox News:
President Trump on Friday threatened to close the Southern Border next week if Mexico does not “immediately stop” the record-breaking surge of illegal immigrants flooding into the United States.
Trump's warning comes as Customs and Border Protection officials say March is on pace to exceed 100,000 border apprehensions -- the highest monthly total in a decade. According to CBP, this week alone, agents have more than 12,000 migrants in custody.,
“The DEMOCRATS have given us the weakest immigration laws anywhere in the World. Mexico has the strongest, & they make more than $100 Billion a year on the U.S.,” Trump tweeted. “Therefore, CONGRESS MUST CHANGE OUR WEAK IMMIGRATION LAWS NOW, & Mexico must stop illegals from entering the U.S. through their country and our Southern Border.”
“Mexico for many years made a fortune off of the U.S., far greater than Border Costs. If Mexico doesn’t immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States through[sic] our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week.”
He continued: “This would be so easy for Mexico to do, but they just take our money and ‘talk.’ Besides, we lose so much money with them, especially when you add in drug trafficking etc.), that the Border closing would be a good thing!”
The president’s tweet comes after similar threats earlier in the week to close the Southern Border, with Trump accusing Mexico and Central American nations of doing “nothing” as illegal immigration surges.
Trump’s initial warning came following comments made by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAlleenan, who said this week that the border was at its “breaking point,” noting that there are not enough agents to respond to the flow of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
“That breaking point has arrived this week at our border,” McAleenan said during a visit to the border in El Paso, Texas. “CBP is facing an unprecedented humanitarian and border security crisis all along our Southwest border.”
His agency also tweeted that they saw the highest number of "apprehensions and encounters" in over a decade this week -- over 4,000 in one day: "#CBP saw the highest total of apprehensions and encounters in over a decade on Monday, with 4,000 migrants either apprehended or encountered at ports of entry in a single day. Yesterday, that record was broken again—4,117 in a single day."
Last month, more than 76,000 migrants were detained, marking the highest number of apprehensions in 12 years. That figure includes more than 7,000 unaccompanied children. More than 36,000 migrant families have arrived in the El Paso region in fiscal 2019 with about 2,000 at the same time last year, according to CBP data. The influx has prompted new challenges for Border Patrol agents.
And according to new data, the number of adults crossing the border illegally with children has surged. During the first four months of the year, CBP apprehended more than 136,000 migrants made up of adults and children who crossed illegally, marking a new record.
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