Evie Fordham on March 29, 2019
President Donald Trump threatened to close the U.S. southern border in a tweet Friday if Mexico “doesn’t immediately stop” illegal immigration into the U.S.
“If Mexico doesn’t immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States throug[h] our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING […] the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “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!”
Trump had said he “[m]ay close the Southern Border!” on Twitter Thursday. (RELATED:
The issue has seemingly risen to the top of the president’s mind after reports that the U.S.-Mexico border is at a “breaking point.” Customs and Border Protection was forced to close down highway checkpoints near El Paso, Texas, to shift resources to deal with a spike in illegal immigrant apprehensions this past weekend, reported the Texas Tribune.
Trump talked about closing the southern border in response to inaction from the Mexican government during a Thursday night rally in Michigan as well.
“Mexico could stop them so easy. . . . If they don’t, it’s going to cost them a hell of a lot of money. . . . We will close the damn border,” he said.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador weighed in on Trump’s accusation that he was “doing nothing” to stop illegal immigration into the U.S. before the rally happened Thursday.
“We respect president Trump’s position, and we are going to help,” Lopez Obrador told reporters Thursday, adding, “this is a problem of the United States, or it’s a problem of the Central American countries. It’s not up to us Mexicans, no.”
Trump’s warning comes as the president continues trying to secure funding for a southern border wall, which he promised to building during his campaign. Democratic lawmakers are not happy that the Pentagon plans to reallocate $1 billion for border wall construction.
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