Trump's 'Operation Hold the Line' on the Border Wall
Setting an early tone with a new Congress
By Andrew R. Arthur on January 4, 2019
In recent weeks, the public and press have largely been focused on a government shutdown over border security: Whether one would occur, how long it would last, and what the result would be. In fact, in the past day, both my physical therapist and my financial advisor have talked to me about it. A big part of the issue really comes down to how low the stakes are, given the prior consensus on border barriers and the (relatively) small amount of money that the president is seeking, as I detailed in a December 2018 post. The more I think about it (and get asked about it), however, the bigger I realize the stakes are: how much immigration enforcement the Democratic House will fund, and therefore how much they will allow President Trump to enforce the immigration laws already on the books.
If you understand the immigration laws of the United States, you understand how ridiculous this statement is to begin with. After all, Congress writes the immigration laws, and the president only executes them. Logically, the institutionalists in Congress would want to protect that branch's authority and prerogatives. Except, I am not sure that there are many (if any) institutionalists left in either the House or the Senate.
https://cis.org/Arthur/Trumps-Operation-Hold-Line-Border-Wall
