Trump says border wall is 'absolutely critical,' will pay for itself

(Image credit: Carlos Barria-Pool/Getty Images)

published 9 January 2019

In his first prime-time address from the Oval Office, President Trump on Tuesday night said a barrier must be built along the southern border in order to keep out drugs and criminals.

Border Patrol agents encounter "thousands" of migrants every day, he said, and "we're out of space to hold them and we have no way to promptly return them back home to their country." Trump proclaimed that "all Americans are hurt by uncontrolled illegal migration," as it "strains resources and drives down jobs and wages," but blacks and Hispanics are hit the hardest.

He also said the "absolutely critical" border wall will "very quickly pay for itself," because it would keep billions of dollars worth of illegal drugs out of the country, and added that it will "be paid for indirectly by a great new trade deal we have made with Mexico." He went on to blame Democrats for the government shutdown, and said they need to pass a bill that "defends our borders and reopens our government."

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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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