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 has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.