my fellow Americans tonight I am is speaking to you because there is a
growing humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border every day Customs
and Border Patrol agents encounter thousands of illegal immigrants trying
to enter our country we are out of space to hold them and we have no way to
promptly return them back home to their country America proudly welcomes
millions of lawful immigrants who enrich our society and contribute to our nation
but all Americans are hurt by uncontrolled illegal migration it
strains public resources and drives down jobs and wages among those hardest hit
are African Americans and Hispanic Americans our southern border is a
pipeline for vast quantities of illegal drugs including meth heroin cocaine and
fentanyl every week 300 of our citizens are killed by heroin alone 90% of which
floods across from our southern border more Americans will die from drugs this
year than were killed in the entire Vietnam War in the last two years ice
officers made 266 thousand arrests of aliens with criminal records including
those charged or convicted of 100,000 assaults thirty thousand sex crimes and
4,000 violent killings over the years thousands of Americans have been
brutally killed by those who illegally entered our country and thousands more
lives will be lost if we don't act right now this is a humanitarian crisis a
crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul last month
20,000 migrant children were illegally brought into the United States a
dramatic increase these children are used as human pawns by vicious coyotes
and ruthless gangs one in three women are
sexually assaulted on the dangerous trek up through mexico women and children are
the biggest victims by far of our broken system this is the tragic reality of
illegal immigration on our southern border this is the cycle of human
suffering that I am determined to end my administration has presented Congress
with a detailed proposal to secure the border and stop the criminal gangs drug
smugglers and human traffickers it's a tremendous problem our proposal was
developed by law enforcement professionals and border agents at the
Department of Homeland Security these are the resources they have requested to
properly perform their mission and keep America safe
in fact safer than ever before the proposal from Homeland Security includes
cutting-edge technology for detecting drugs weapons illegal contraband and
many other things we have requested more agents immigration judges and bed space
to process the sharp rise and unlawful migration fueled by our very strong
economy our plan also contains an urgent request for humanitarian assistance and
medical support furthermore we have asked Congress to close border security
loopholes so that illegal immigrant children can be safely and humanely
returned back home finally as part of an overall approach to border security law
enforcement professionals have requested 5.7 billion dollars for a physical
barrier at the request of Democrats it will be a steel barrier rather than a
concrete wall this barrier is absolutely critical to border security it's also
what our professionals at the border want and need
this is just common sense the border wall would very quickly pay for itself
the cost of illegal drugs exceeds 500 billion dollars a year vastly more than
the 5.7 billion dollars we have requested from Congress the wall will
also be paid for indirectly by the great new trade deal we have made with Mexico
Senator Chuck Schumer who you will be hearing from later tonight has
repeatedly supported a physical barrier in the past along with many other
Democrats they change their mind only after I was elected president
Democrats in Congress have refused to acknowledge the crisis and they have
refused to provide our brave border agents with the tools they desperately
need to protect our families and our nation the federal government remains
shut down for one reason and one reason only because Democrats will not fund
border security my administration is doing everything in our power to help
those impacted by the situation but the only solution is for Democrats to pass a
spending bill that defends our borders and reopens the government this
situation could be solved in a 45-minute meeting I have invited congressional
leadership to the White House tomorrow to get this done hopefully we can rise
above partisan politics in order to support national security some have
suggested a barrier is immoral then why do wealthy politicians build walls
fences and gates around their homes they don't build walls because they hate the
people on the outside but because they love the people on the inside the only
thing that is immoral is the politicians to do nothing
and continue to allow more innocent people to be so horribly victimized
America's heart broke the day after Christmas when a young police officer in
California was savagely murdered in cold blood by an illegal alien just came
across the border the life of an American Hero was stolen by someone who
had no right to be in our country day after day precious lives are cut
short by those who have violated our borders in California an Air Force
veteran was raped murdered and beaten to death with a hammer by an illegal alien
with a long criminal history in Georgia an illegal alien was recently charged
with murder for killing beheading and dismembering his neighbor in Maryland
ms-13 gang members who arrived in the United States as unaccompanied minors
were arrested and charged last year after viciously stabbing and beating a
16 year old girl over the last several years I've met with dozens of families
whose loved ones were stolen by illegal immigration I've held the hands of the
weeping mothers and embraced the grief-stricken fathers so sad so
terrible I will never forget the pain in their eyes the tremble in their voices
and the sadness gripping their souls how much more American blood must we
shed before Congress does its job for those who refuse to compromise in the
name of border security I would ask imagine if it was your child
your husband or your wife whose life was so cruelly shattered and totally broken
to every member of Congress pass a bill that ends this crisis to
every citizen call Congress and tell them to finally after all of these
decades secure our border this is a choice between right and wrong justice
and injustice this is about whether we fulfill our sacred duty to the American
citizens we serve when I took the oath of office I swore to protect our country
and that is what I will always do so help me God
thank you and good night