Every man has his limit and President Trump has reached his with Mexico. Look, we have multiple emergencies at our southern border that need urgent action.
Our immigration system incentivizes bad behavior by illegal immigrants and corporations that employ them. Our laws actually encourage people to come here to drop their anchor babies and our laws help corporations drive down wages for American workers.
The whole system is out of whack and needs a do-over. But with the Democrats playing politics with immigration a consensus will be next to impossible to reach, especially heading into an election year.
So Trump will go it alone, shaming the cowards on both sides of the aisle, and do what he must. As allowed by the U.S. Constitution.
From CNBC: President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would give Mexico a year to stem the flow of illegal drugs over the southern border, and if the country cannot, he said he would either close the border or impose tariffs on cars.
“You know i will do it. I don’t play games. … so we’re doing it to stop people. We’re gonna give them a one year warning, and if the drugs don’t stop, or largely stop, we’re going to put tariffs on Mexico and products, in particular cars. The whole ballgame is cars….and if that doesn’t stop the drugs, we close the border.”
“If Mexico doesn’t apprehend these people coming” into the United States from Central America, “we’re going to tax the cars. And if that doesn’t work, we’re going to close the border,” Trump said during a meeting at the White House. “If in a year from now, drugs continue to pour in, we’re going to put tariffs up.”
The move appeared to be an easing of Trump’s recent threats to close the southern border as early as this weekend.
It was unclear Thursday exactly how Trump’s demand would be put into motion, but the yearlong reprieve will come as good news to businesses and Republican lawmakers, who feared earlier this week that Trump would decide to close some part of the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Even threatening to close the border to legitimate commerce and travel creates a degree of economic uncertainty that risks compromising the very gains in growth and productivity that policies of the Trump Administration have helped achieve,” Neil Bradley, chief policy officer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement on Monday, in response to Trump’s escalating threats.
In addition to Mexico stemming the tide of migrants, Trump told reporters on Tuesday, Congress needs to “meet quickly and make a deal … to get rid of chain migration … get rid of catch and release,” end the visa lottery and “do something about asylum.”
“If [Mexico] don’t, or if we don’t make a deal with Congress,” Trump said, “the border’s going to be closed.”
