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Why is the president giving this address now? Immigration was Trump’s signature issue during the campaign, so why did he not try to make this case in his first year or two as president?
This address seems to be a tell that Republicans are getting squeamish about the political consequences of the current impasse.
If Trump is really prepared to announce an emergency order to build the wall, I assume he will sign bills to reopen the government. If the White House has any hope of selling the border situation as a true crisis requiring an immediate emergency response, it’s hard to argue that it’s a true emergency but also not serious enough to need a federal government (including the Department of Homeland Security!) that’s operating at full strength.
What he hasn’t done, other than insist on the wall as a deterrent, is sell Americans on a plan to address the root causes or even identified them, behind why many migrants undertake a dangerous and uncertain journey in the first place.
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