Houston Chronicle 2/5/2019 by Kevin Diaz
President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, billed as a plea for unity and bipartisanship, came amid a threat to go around Congress to make good on his campaign promise of building a wall on the southwestern border.
Trump’s border wall strategy, more than a month in the making, has narrowed through the recent government shutdown talks and appears now to be aimed squarely at the Rio Grande Valley and Texas, which he highlighted last month in a visit to McAllen.
“Simply put, walls work and walls save lives,†Trump said in his address Tuesday night, citing the example of El Paso. “So let’s work together, compromise, and reach a deal that will truly make America safe.â€
But unless he can break the partisan stalemate and circumvent another partial government shutdown in 10 days, the remedy he has proposed is the declaration of a national emergency, a measure that has alarmed liberals and conservatives alike.
While Tuesday’s speech was intended to talk up the economy and tout the accomplishments of his administration, it was his message on immigration and the border wall — the central issue in the 35-day government shutdown — that struck some of the deepest chords among Texans in Congress.
Adding to the sense of urgency was Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s announcement hours before the speech that a new “caravan†of about 2,000 migrants had arrived at the southern border in Piedras Negras, across the river from Eagle Pass, Texas.
More:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Trump-s-border-wall-strategy-aimed-at-Rio-13592838.php
