Trump promises border wall will be built
EL PASO — President Donald Trump charged ahead Monday with his pledge to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, skimming over the details of lawmakers’ tentative deal that would give him far less than he’s been demanding and declaring he’s “setting the stage” to deliver on his signature campaign promise.
Standing in a packed stadium under a giant U.S. flag and banners saying “FINISH THE WALL,” Trump insisted that large portions of the project are already under construction and vowed to fulfill his 2016 campaign promise regardless of what happens in Congress.
“Walls work,” Trump said. “Walls save lives.”
Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, meanwhile, held a countermarch with dozens of local civic, human rights and Hispanic groups in his hometown, followed by a protest rally attended by thousands on a baseball field within shouting distance from the arena where Trump spoke.
More than a half-hour into his rally, Trump had scarcely men-
tioned immigration, offering just a passing suggestion that those chanting “Build the Wall” switch to “Finish the Wall.” Instead, he mocked O’Rourke, including his crowd size, even though both men drew thousands.
The rallies began moments after negotiators on Capitol Hill announced that lawmakers had reached an agreement in principle to fund the government ahead of a midnight Friday deadline to avoid another shutdown.
Republicans, desperate to avoid another bruising shutdown, tentatively agreed to far less money for Trump’s border wall than the White House’s $5.7 billion wish list, settling for a figure of nearly $1.4 billion, according to congressional aides. The funding measure is through the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
Three people familiar with Congress’ tentative border security deal said the accord would provide about $1.38 billion to build 55 miles of new border barriers — well below the $5.7 billion that Trump demanded to build over 200 miles of wall along the boundary. The money will be for vertical steel slats called bollards, not a solid wall.
The talks had cratered over the weekend because of Democratic demands to limit immigrant detentions by federal authorities, but lawmakers apparently broke through that impasse Monday evening. Now they will need the support of Trump, who must sign the legislation.
But Trump appeared oblivious to the deal, saying he’d been informed by aides that negotiators had made some prog-
ress but that he had declined to be fully briefed so he could go on stage.
“I had a choice. I could’ve stayed out there and listened, or I could have come out to the people of El Paso, and Texas, I chose you,” Trump said. “So we probably have some good news. But who knows?”
Trump, who has been threatening to declare a national emergency to bypass Congress, added, “Just so you know, we’re building the wall anyway.”
Trump has insisted that large portions of the wall are already underway. But the work focuses almost entirely on replacing existing barriers. Work on the first extension — 14 miles in the Rio Grande Valley — starts this month. The other 83 miles that his administration has awarded contracts for are replacement projects.
Trump has repeatedly pointed to El Paso to make his case that a border wall is necessary, claiming that barriers turned the city from one of the nation’s most dangerous to one of its safest.
“You know where it made a difference is right here in El Paso,” he said, adding: “They’re full of crap when they claim it hasn’t made a big difference.”
But that’s not true.
El Paso had a murder rate of less than half the national average in 2005, a year before the most recent expansion of its border fence.
The Trump campaign released a video showing El Paso residents saying the wall helped reduce crime. But many in the city have bristled at the prospect of becoming a poster child for the wall.
Trump advisers have long insisted that, fulfilled or not, the wall is a winning issue for the president.