CALEXICO, Calif. — Declaring “our country is full,” President Trump on Friday insisted the U.S. immigration system is overburdened and illegal crossings must be stopped as he inspected a refurbished section of fencing at the Mexican border.
Making a renewed push for border security as a central campaign issue for his 2020 re-election, Mr. Trump participated in a briefing on immigration and border security in Calexico.
He then viewed a 2-mile see-through steel-slat barrier that was a planned replacement for an older barrier — and not a new wall.
“There is indeed an emergency on our southern border,” Mr. Trump said at the briefing, adding that there has been a sharp uptick in illegal crossings. “It’s a colossal surge and it’s overwhelming our immigration system. We can’t take you anymore. Our country is full.”
As Air Force One touched down in California, 20 states that are suing Mr. Trump over his emergency declaration to build a border wall requested a court order to stop money from being diverted to the project.
Mr. Trump reiterated that the emergency declaration was necessary.
Meanwhile, House Democrats filed a lawsuit on Friday to prevent Mr. Trump from spending more money than Congress has approved to erect barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Congress approved just under $1.4 billion for work on border barricades.
Mr. Trump has asserted he can use his powers as chief executive to transfer an additional $6.7 billion to wall construction.
The President earlier in the week had threatened to shut down the border over the high numbers of migrants trying to enter this country, but he appeared to walk back his comments Thursday.
He said Friday that it was because Mexico had gotten tougher in stopping an influx of immigrants from traveling north.
“Mexico has been absolutely terrific for the last four days,” the President said as he left the White House. “I never changed my mind at all. I may shut it down at some point.”
As Mr. Trump arrived in California, the state’s governor ripped the President’s push for Congress to pass legislation that would tighten asylum rules to make it harder for people to qualify.
“Since our founding, this country has been a place of refuge — a safe haven for people fleeing tyranny, oppression, and violence. His words show a total disregard of the Constitution, our justice system, and what it means to be an American,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat.
Arrests along the border have skyrocketed in recent months. Border agents were on track to make 100,000 arrests or denials of entry in March, a 12-year high.
More than half of those are families with children, who require extra care.
The southern border is nearly 2,000 miles long and already has about 650 miles of different types of barriers, including short vehicle barricades and tall steel fences that go up to 30 feet high.
Most of the fencing was built when George W. Bush was president. There have been updates and maintenance throughout other administrations.
Mr. Trump has yet to complete any new mileage of fencing or other barriers on the border, though he declared Friday that at least 400 miles of the border barrier would be erected over the next two years.
His administration so far has only replaced existing fencing.
Construction for that small chunk of fencing cost about $18 million. It began in February, 2018, and was completed in October.
Administration officials had been studying ways to minimize the economic impact of a potential border closure in case Mr. Trump went through with his threat, including keeping trucking lanes open or closing only certain ports.
But even without that extraordinary step, delays at border stations have been intensifying after 2,000 border officers were reassigned from checking vehicles to deal with migrant crowds.
Before he went to California Friday, Mr. Trump reiterated his call for Congress to overhaul U.S. immigration laws, but this time said lawmakers should get “rid of the whole asylum system.”
The Trump Administration already has implemented ways to make it more challenging for immigrants to seek asylum.
Suggesting that the entire asylum system be scrapped is a step further than the President has gone in the past.
He also reiterated that Congress should dispense with immigration judges.
“Congress has to act . . . they have to get rid of the whole asylum system because it doesn’t work. And frankly we should get rid of judges,” Mr. Trump said early Friday.
Under U.S. law, any migrant who sets foot on U.S. soil is entitled to ask for asylum and if it’s determined that they have legitimate reason to fear for their safety in their home country, they’ll be given a hearing before a judge at a later date.
When Mr. Trump says he wants Congress to get rid of the country’s asylum system, it’s unlikely that he means eliminating asylum in the United States altogether.
But he’s long made it clear that he wants to see it limited.
Saturday marks the first anniversary of the “zero tolerance” policy, which said that any migrant who illegally crossed into the United States would be criminally charged.
This led to the child separation crisis, where children were taken from their parents and sent to shelters while their parents waited in a detention cell for a court hearing.
First Published April 6, 2019, 3:25 a.m.
