The Latest: Trump again calls for complete wall at border
Posted Jan 2, 2019 12:55:29 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WASHINGTON — The Latest on a partial government shutdown over money for President Donald Trump’s border wall (all times local):
12:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump says the southern border is “like a sieve,” and he’s lamenting how U.S. authorities fired tear gas into Mexico during the first hours of the new year to repel about 150 migrants trying to breach the border fence in Tijuana.
Trump spoke during a White House meeting with his Cabinet as the partial government shutdown continues into its 12th day. Congress and the president are at an impasse over funding for Trump’s pet project, a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump says a complete wall is needed. Trump says people then couldn’t enter unless they were a “champion pole vaulter.”
Trump’s statement on crossings contradicts the Department of Homeland Security. In 2000, about 1.6 million people were apprehended crossing illegally. In FY 2017, there were about 310,000.
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12:08 a.m.
Democratic and Republican congressional leaders are expected to attend a briefing on border security at the White House as the government remains partially shut down and President Donald Trump asks in a tweet, “Let’s make a deal?”
The shutdown began Dec. 22. Funding for Trump’s pet project, a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, has been the sticking point in passing budgets.
The briefing is scheduled for 3 p.m. EST Wednesday, the day before Democrats assume control of the House.
Pelosi has said that Democrats will pass legislation to reopen government but not provide funding for a wall.
The White House is calling the Democratic plan a “non-starter,” saying it fails to secure the border and puts the needs of other countries above the needs of its own citizens.
The Associated Press
