Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told reporters at the White House press briefing that Donald Trump was tired of waiting for Congress to act on immigration. She was referring to the undocumented immigrants cross the border from Mexico into the U.S. Then, it got scary.
Trump circumvented Congress by working with state governors under Title 32 in partnership to activate their National Guard. Their mission would be intelligence in support of the border security officers.
The National Guard would not do any actual enforcement “as of now,” according to C-SPAN. Nielsen stopped short of saying the Guard could do enforcement at a later date.
She also said that the National Guard would be deployed within hours. One reporter asked what the urgency was about. He asked if it had anything to do with what 45 saw on television over the weekend, and was the president’s goal to shore up his base?
The network aired a story about a caravan of people coming to this country’s border to seek asylum.
Nielsen said that the president, in conjunction with the governors, was working “as expeditiously as possible.” She said that the president was frustrated. She said he takes his job of securing the border very seriously.
The secretary claimed that the numbers of people illegally crossing the border increases in April. Plus, the department has seen more ads for drug traffickers and others. Some people “borrow children to appear as a family unit,” because they know they will be given more latitude at the border.
Nielsen also spoke about Trump’s border wall. She indicated that the president would reframe any “renovated, rebuilt, or reinforced” portions of the wall as part of Trump’s new wall:
‘To us that is a new wall.’
She said that Congress appropriated funds in the new budget that would serve as a “down payment” for the rest of the wall.
It seems the nation owns some blocks of land along the border. The secretary said the president would consider directing some military appropriations to fund the wall with the option of building military bases along the country’s southern border.
Nielsen said that the structure of the new Trump wall would vary, depending upon the geography. Some parts would look like the prototypes. Some parts would be taller, and some would work with levies:
‘In one place the wall almost floats with the sand.’
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made numerous criticisms of Democrats at the press briefing, saying that they were “not doing their jobs:”
‘They failed time again. (Trump) is doing what he can and will continue through the National Guard and other administrative actions without Congress.’
When questioned about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia meddling with the 2016 election and any possible links to Trump, she repeated:
‘There was no collusion.”
In addition, Sanders commented on the wild swings in the stock market causing tens of billions of dollars in losses:
‘There would be short-term pain for long-term gains.’
On the tariffs on China’s products, she said it was several months before they would go into effect. The purpose was to “stop unfair trade practices,” and the administration continues to “review the process.”
Sanders said that Trump believes that the EPA ‘s Scott Pruett was “doing a good job on deregulation.”
Featured Image via Getty Images/Win McNamee.
