On January 8, 2019, President Trump gave an Oval Office Speech on the US southern border humanitarian crisis and Team Pelosi-Schumer demanded to rebut the speech immediately thereafter. The US Border Debate between President Trump and the Democrat-RINO political establishment began in earnest with a public sit-down session between Trump, Pence, Schumer, and Pelosi. The second key moment in the ongoing debate featured live on-air speeches by Trump, Pelosi, and Schumer. One of the key aspects of the debate regards the validity of a border barrier at the southern border of the US. 1) Who's winning this debate in terms of public perception? 2) Who's winning in terms of fact-checking? 3) Who's winning in terms of moral grounding? Whether or not a border barrier is actually built, I believe that the underlying question of moral grounding is the most important question. In conclusion, I'll compare arguments for who is on the right side of history.
The full transcripts of the three January 8, 2019 speeches are at posted the close of this article and I urge first a brief review of these short texts. Part 1 of Trump's speech details numerous facts and statistics and lists several US citizens brutally killed by illegal aliens in the US. Part 2 outlines specific points as solutions, as backed up by references to authorities on border security.
In contrast to the president's speech, the speeches given by the Pelosi-Schumer team focuses on the present partial government shutdown. They offer reasons as to why they believe the partial shutdown is unnecessary and harmful and they basically suggest that everything will work out fine in terms of border security as long as there are enough meetings. There was not one mention of the thousands of US victims killed by illegal aliens in the US. Other than making generalized false statements about the effectiveness of border barriers and personal attacks, no rebuttal to Trump's facts on crime was presented and no specific solutions were offered to improve border security. I'll break this article into three parts in order to address these three questions.
I. Who's Winning Public Perception of the US Border Debate?
The recent speech presentation by Pelosi and Schumer was so poor that even liberal MSM news was bashing them. Left-leaning Newsweek, owned by the Washington Post, offered this image and caption, "Twitter roasts Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer over their Trump response."
Liberal MSNBC's Brian Williams said, “This Chuck and Nancy visual tonight launched a thousand memes while they were still talking...this visual from tonight goes down in the pantheon.” Notable in the meme-fest were the following captions "When the robots are not lifelike enough..." "Blink Twice if kidnapped..." "Bride of Chucky" and "Madame Tussauds unveils life-like waxfigures of Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi."
Whatever people may think of triple-amputee Iraq war veteran Brian Kolfage, the GoFundMe page he started in support of building a border wall to help protect against murders by illegal aliens is set to become the all-time record for GoFundMe. This shows the incredible popularity of this wall of protection. The GoFundMe page is titled, "We The People Will Build The Wall."
A new poll shows the "plurality of voters" agree with Trump that there's a border crisis: "a new Morning Consult/Politico survey shows a lion’s share of voters agree with him that the United States is facing a crisis over illegal immigration."
When Bill Clinton was president he used he term "illegal alien" and declared illegal aliens an "immigration emergency" - even before massive "caravans began arriving in 2019: "[Determination of President of the United States, No. 97–16, Feb. 12, 1997, 62 F.R. 13981, "provided that immigration emergency determined by President in 1995 to exist with respect to smuggling into the United States of illegal aliens persisted and directed use of Immigration Emergency Fund established by section 404(b)(1) of act June 27, 1952, set out above. [Prior determination was contained in the following: [Determination of President of the United States, No. 95–49, Sept. 28, 1995, 60 F.R. 53677.] (emphasis added)
II. Who's winning in terms of fact-checking?
1. "a growing humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border."
President Trump correctly stated that Democrats refuse to acknowledge that there's a crisis at the southern border. Yet, never in US history have there been "migrant caravans" of thousands arriving and demanding immediate entry into the US. Additionally, before the migrant caravans, one can point out that most previous US presidents acknowledged that there was a crisis and there was funding allowed, for example, funding was allowed for the 2006 Secure Fence Act (Pub.L. 109–367) under George W. Bush, underscoring, "This bill will help protect the American people. This bill will make our borders more secure." There are not just harmless women and children but also many males with serious criminal records. The very leader of the second caravan, Juan Carlos Molina, was a convicted child rapist, in addition to criminal MS-13 gang members trying to cross over.
The crisis at the southern border is only surpassed perhaps by the crisis of propaganda. For example, Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claims that migrants fleeing corruption and poverty is the same as Jews fleeing for their very lives from the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.
Were Trump's Facts on Illegal Immigrant Crime True or False?
2. “Everyday customs and border patrol agents encounter thousands of illegal immigrants trying to enter our country.”
This is true. To sneak in, to aggressively demand entry, are both "illegal" per US laws. This begins the real underlying debate. Socialist-leaning politicians do not believe that it SHOULD BE illegal for aliens to sneak in or to crash the border, but that all should be allowed to immediately enter onto a path to citizenship. Hence the urge to define them as “undocumented immigrants” and not “illegal aliens.”
According to the US Constitution, immigration is a privilege and not a “right” to anyone that demands to enter. And so a deeper issue is whether our politicians are following the US Constitution or their own ideologies. In his speech, President Trump appeals to the fact that he is taking his “Oath of Office” to uphold the Constitution seriously. The term "establish Justice" in the preamble of the Constitution means to "begin fairness for all” citizens. Refugee-status does not automatically apply to anyone that self-identifies as a migrant. But the US Oath of Office includes a promise to protect citizens against unnecessary harm.
Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution states, "The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts, and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States" and "To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization" (Not "sanctuary cities" as anyone desires).
Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution states, "The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union, a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence."
Like the president, US senators also take their US Oath of Office to uphold the Constitution. Yet those that are pushing to welcome all that crash the border are breaking the US Constitution and are essentially committing treason by doing so. Contrary to the PC bias against Constitutional Law, the phrase "illegal alien" is used in the legal language of U.S. Federal Law (TITLE 8 1252c). I cover this in a previous article.
3. “In the last two years, ICE officers made 266,000 arrests of aliens with criminal records including those charged or convicted of 100,000 assaults, 30,000 sex crimes, and 4,000 violent killings.”
The basic facts are true: "The Washington Post produced a quick fact-check Tuesday night on a key Trump claim: that there were "266,000 aliens arrested in the past two years." The outlet admits that the number is "right," but says it's also "misleading." In the post dedicated to that claim, the paper fails to clearly address the second half of Trump's claim: that those 266,000 arrests include "those charged or convicted of 100,000 assaults, 30,000 sex crimes, and 4,000 violent killings.""[1] It only seems misleading if you fail to address all the facts.
4. “Over the years thousands of Americans have been brutally killed by those who illegally entered our country and thousands more lives will be lost if we don't act right now.” Article 4 of the Constitution says that the United States "shall protect each of [the states] against invasion." and border jumping en masse represents what appears to be a true invasion of not just border states but all US states.
Trump offered some factual examples of harm, beginning with Ronil Singh. "The life of an American hero was stolen by someone who had no right to be in our country." Singh, a legal alien living in California, was killed on December 26, 2019, by an illegal alien.
"In California, an Air Force veteran was raped, murdered, and beaten to death with a hammer by an illegal alien with a long criminal history. In Georgia, an illegal alien was recently charged with murder for killing, beheading, and dismembering his neighbor. In Maryland, MS-13 gang members who arrived in the United States as unaccompanied minors were arrested and charged last year after viciously stabbing and beating a 16-year-old girl."
In terms of statistics, it's more likely in the tens of thousands. It's difficult to track and apprehend a person that is “off the grid” and so the amount of those caught for serious crimes will be disproportionately smaller statistically than US citizens. And CIS also points out that statistics will be misleadingly low for another reason: “For a variety of reasons, immigrants who are victims of crime may be less likely to report their victimization than native-born victims. ...This would result in lower arrest or incarceration rates among immigrants when in fact their crime rates are actually higher.”[2]
Based on what we do know, murder by immigrants is higher based on the FBI's Most Wanted list. The FBI keeps highly detailed files on its “Most Wanted” list and this includes country of birth. For this group, the immigrant population is higher by percentage. CIS reports: “In 2009, 57 percent of the 76 fugitive murderers most wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were foreign-born.”[3]
5. “These children are used as human pawns by vicious coyotes and ruthless gangs.”
This is true. The sex-trafficking of young girls across the southern border is a huge problem that is encouraged by weak borders. There are several sources to confirm this problem. The Trump administration has made more arrests of violators in two years than Obama had in eight years.[4]
This article, "The Sex Fields of San Diego: Sex slave operation thrives in migrant strawberry fields” summarizes, "Even though this travesty happened right in our faces, it took an investigative report by the EI Universal, a Mexican newspaper, to reveal the awful details of a sex trafficking ring that operated for 10 years in the migrant camps and suburbs of San Diego. San Diego is a "corridor" for sex trafficking because of its proximity to Mexico, its military bases, its large migrant population, and its white "good ole boys" ---- gringos who will pay a premium to take the virginity of a little girl."[5]
5. “These children are used as human pawns by vicious coyotes and ruthless gangs.”
This is true. The sex-trafficking of young girls across the southern border is a huge problem that is encouraged by weak borders. There are several sources to confirm this problem. The Trump administration has made more arrests of violators in two years than Obama had in eight years.[4]
This article, "The Sex Fields of San Diego: Sex slave operation thrives in migrant strawberry fields” summarizes, "Even though this travesty happened right in our faces, it took an investigative report by the EI Universal, a Mexican newspaper, to reveal the awful details of a sex trafficking ring that operated for 10 years in the migrant camps and suburbs of San Diego. San Diego is a "corridor" for sex trafficking because of its proximity to Mexico, its military bases, its large migrant population, and its white "good ole boys" ---- gringos who will pay a premium to take the virginity of a little girl."[5]
The Mexican Newspaper EI Universal now prohibits advertising of a sexual nature in order to not support sex trafficking problem. They wrote a report outlining the awful details of a sex trafficking from Mexico into the US.[6] Numerous reliable sources have observed first-hand evidence of sex trafficking, as shown in a documentary video about the sex traffic "rape trees" by the US border.[7]
Instead of addressing this serious type of underlying problem, US MSM news also tends to exploit migrant children, but in a different way. There was an embarrassing self-indictment by the MSM news outlets when a photo of a young girl (Yanela Denise) was portrayed as being cruelly separated from her mother at the border. This was a cover story for Time, was run by tearful Rachel Maddow, and most other MSM news outlets. The story was false on many levels, however. First, the child was never separated from her mother. Second, the mother actually had kidnapped her child from her family with her husband, the father, and three other children, apparently to aim for preferred welfare life as a single mother in the US.[8]
Were Trump's Facts on A Border Barrier Solution True or False?
1. Are walls immoral? “Why do wealthy politicians build walls, fences and gates around their homes? They don't build walls because they hate the people on the outside, but because they love the people on the inside.” Nancy Pelosi has two very tall walls protecting her yard. If she says walls are "immoral" then why does she use them? Barack Obama installed a new highly-fortified wall at his new D.C. home. Was that immoral?
2. Are barriers critical? “This barrier is absolutely critical to border security. It's also what our professionals at the border want and need. This is just common sense.”
A chart at CityData.com regarding crime statistics in El Paso Texas shows a dramatic decrease in crime after a border wall was built nearby.
Benjamin Netanyahu and a former mayor in Israel, David Rubin, that are both adamant in asserting that a physical wall has been extremely effective in Israel, despite the fact that almost half of the county has access by water. Senator Ron Johnson affirmed this and Politifact supported the assertion with a "Mostly True" label.[9] Sheriff Leon Wilmot in Yuma County, Arizona urged that steel barriers made for a 91% decrease of crime: “The fence worked here. It may not work in New Mexico, I can only talk about my area. ...It was a 91 percent drop,”
As President Trump mentioned in his speech, authorities in U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) advocate in their video that "walls work" with a video summary urging for a barrier: "It explains the need for new and replacement barriers along the U.S. southern border and the benefits of this infrastructure." Paul Sperry reported an 89 percent reduction in deportable illegal immigrants in El Paso after a steel barrier was erected and per FBI tables, property crimes have plunged more than 37 percent.
Left-leaning CNN canceled a news show with San Diego KUSI News, based on real-life affirmations that walls work: "We believe CNN declined a report from KUSI because we informed them that most Border Patrol Agents we have spoken to told us the barrier does in fact work," it concludes. "We have continuously been told by Border Patrol Agents that the barrier along the Southern border helps prevent illegal entries, drugs, and weapons from entering the United States, and the numbers prove it."
The argument that a ladder will scale any wall is not very logical because, first, extremely long ladders would have to be transported to the wall. Second, anyone climbing up an extremely tall ladder, up to 30 feet, is not likely to jump off the other side and receive broken legs or a broken skull. Third, even if ladders are used, the fact that a person must climb up limits what can be carried and delays the crossing such that time is afforded for security personnel to go to the area.
3. “The border wall would very quickly pay for itself.”
A Reduced Cost Burden: A study using data by the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) offers the following: “The findings of this analysis show that if a border wall stopped a small fraction of the illegal immigrants who are expected to come in the next decade, the fiscal savings from having fewer illegal immigrants in the country would be sufficient to cover the costs of the wall.”[10] FAIR outlines the annual burden as follows: “The Federal government spends a net amount of $45.8 billion on illegal aliens and their U.S.-born children.”[11]
Reduced Border Patrol Costs: A wall would significantly reduce the amount of manpower needed to monitor the border. If anyone would risk breaking their legs by using a ladder and jumping over a 30-foot barrier, it would still delay an illegal crossing and allow border patrol agents more time to address this. Reduced border patrols would mean fewer salaries to be paid and also less personnel that could be injured by aggressive rock-throwing border crashes. The recent migrant caravan was extremely hostile, violent, and destructive.
Reduced Terrorism: Jany Leveille, an illegal immigrant from Haiti, was among the arrested in 2016 at the Radical Islamic training center in New Mexico. She's married to the leader, Siraj Wahhaj, according to FBI agent Travis Taylor. Leveille, who had also lived in Brooklyn, NY was also a member of a radical Muslim group there, had a widespread influence on young people: “Leveille and Siraj Ibj Wahhaj, in particular, "sought to recruit and train persons, including minor children, to be prepared to engage in jihad and train an army of jihad and to die as martyrs.”[12]
Contrary to the belief of CNN's Don Lemon, radical Islamic terrorists are the leading cause of terrorism in the US. “The fact is, there is no reason to discount the Islamic attacks of 9/11 killing approximately 3,000 because increasing radical Islamic terror is a part of a global trend, of which the US is a subset. Even if this is discounted, 106 people have been killed by far-right extremists while 119 have been killed by radical Muslims since 9/11/01.” See "List of Documented Dishonesty and Fake News From CNN"[13]
We do not know how many terrorists have already crossed the border due to the failed border policies handed down from previous administrations, but the president is correct that more protection is needed. Both Democrat and RINO politicians have been willing to spend fortunes on all kinds of different things, for example, Democrat Senators Elizabeth Warren, Chuck Schumer, Corry Booker, and Kamala Harris, all voted to increase the US Military budget by $17-billion, to fight wars on other people's land. And yet, they are not willing to allocate $5-billion for domestic security with a border barrier.[14]
Massive Drug Trafficking: "Our southern border is a pipeline for vast quantities of illegal drugs, including meth, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl." According to those on the front lines, this is true. Although a lot passes over by boat, the open desert border is easier for drug smugglers. The indirect costs of the illegal drug trade include not just lost taxes from black-market sales but lost lives from overdoses, and these have value. Sara Carter reveals in a documentary video, “Not in Vein,” how Mexican drug cartels are terrorizing Americans with the most deadly drugs on the market.
The seized drug money from Mexican drug lord 'El Chapo' alone is approximately $14 billion. Senator Ted Cruz introduced the El Chapo Act and Cruz is still urging that this seized fortune should be used for something like a border wall. Cruz explains in a video how the El Chapo Act would very quickly pay for all of the border barriers with "Mexican money" fulfilling Trump's words.
Aside from these points, it simply makes sense to fund a more secure border. If politicians in your town decided to spend most of the town's money to fund foreign wars but did not fund your own fire department for emergencies at home, would this be logical? This is a border crisis and not a poker game. Almost all Dem senators, including Schumer, Warren, Booker, and Harris, voted to increase military spending by $17 billion, yet refuse $5 billion for high-quality home security. See the Roll Call Vote 115th Congress - 2nd Session voting record on this subject.
Nancy Pelosi's Speech
Pelosi opens up by claiming that President Trump is offering "misinformation and even malice" - but she does not specify what specific claims by Trump or false. This is simply slander. Pelosi states that "effective border solutions" were rejected by Trump, but she does not state what these are. She claims that physical barriers are "ineffective" but as outlined previously in this post, that is a false statement based on Israel's record. Pelosi offered that Trump is "manufacturing a crisis" in what seems to be one of the most offensive things she could possibly say to the tens of thousands of mothers that have had children murdered by illegal aliens. An apology is owed by Pelosi to all of the families of victims. The Remembrance Project helps to keep the memories of these victims alive that are so callously ignored by the Democrat Party.
Chuck Schumer's Speech
Chuck Schumer offered a personal attack: “We don't govern by temper tantrum.” However, the president was very calm and in control in his speech. Schumer did not rebut Trump's point that Schumer had flip-flopped on his border wall position and explain why he changed his mind. A video shows Schumer in 2009 stating that "border ...infrastructure must be enhanced." Likewise, former President Obama stated in 2006 that "better fences" were required. No Democrats have explained what facts have changed to warrant this change of opinion.
Democrat Insults and Platitudes
The Dem team concluded with a platitude and visual image by Chuck Schumer: “The symbol of America should be the Statue of Liberty, not a thirty-foot wall.” This comparison is illogical because a barrier is not a sculpture, but serves a practical purpose.
III. Who's Winning the Debate in Terms of Moral Grounding?
In the speeches of Pelosi and Schumer, their appeal to moral grounding is based on a platitude that does not seem to be logical. A statue does not serve the same purpose as the infrastructure used to protect a border. They are comparing apples and oranges when they compare the Statue of Liberty to a border barrier. In terms of their moral grounding, there is a serious failure to ground their view that a border barrier is immoral. By contrast, when Trump asserts that he is fulfilling his moral duty to protect US citizens from harm, he is underscoring that Pelosi, Schumer, and all others that oppose helpful border solutions are immorally neglecting their Oath of Office.
Like the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island also has symbolic value and is a tourist site. But it also had a function. Immigrants had to pass a vetting process in order to become US citizens, and some were turned away.[15] This suggests that legal immigration into the US has always been viewed as a privilege and not a "right" to be demanded by anyone that shows up. To simply allow any foreign murderer or criminal to re-enter the US repeatedly, as is the case today, and let them stay in sanctuary cities, killing, again and again, is not just or fair to legal US citizens. Jesus prophesied of the time like ours when "lawlessness will abound..." (Matthew 24:12-13) and this approach seems to be encouraged by the Democrat Party.
The view that all migrants in the world have a right to demand entry to any country they wish to enter is a view now proposed by the Marxist-socialist United Nations in their "Migrant Compact" document.[16] However, the UN does not have legal jurisdiction over the United States and many countries such as the US have officially rejected this UN proposal. If US Citizens had desired an ideological shift to Socialism, they would have elected Bernie Sanders.
If there is no stable moral starting point for the Democrats, such as the US Constitution and laws, then there is no starting point for showing mercy and help refugees from other countries that need it. We will be simply turning the US into the same type of chaotic and lawless mess that the migrants are fleeing from.
Socialist-leaning thinkers tend to presuppose that a wall is "immoral" assuming that anyone who shows up to the US border should be welcomed in. Not only is this view opposed to the US Constitution and present immigration law, but the ideological foundation is also flawed. The Marxist-socialist ideals that are appealed to do not work, as shown over and over again throughout history. If we view the 'moral' reasoning that underpins Marxist thought, we find there is no objective moral grounding, only illogical and non-cohesive moral relativism.[17] On the contrary, theists such as William Lane Craig, considered the top debater in the world even by atheists, offer a cohesive and logical basis of morality in the nature of God.[18]
Conclusion
These speeches reveal very different priorities. The main concern of Pelosi and Schumer is paying the government and allowing safe entry to migrants. From their view, this is the most pressing issue. The main concern of Trump is protecting US citizens and the health of people that may be seeking legal entry. Trump appeals to the memory of thousands of dead US citizens killed by illegal aliens.
The focus on paying government workers seems to be the default answer of career politicians that will demand to be paid even if there are no actual effective results. Nancy Pelosi has served 32 yrs in Congress. Senator Schumer has served 38 years in politics between House and Senate. They have a combined 70 years in politics and their answer to the border crisis is to ask for more time to talk, to have more meetings.
Democrats tend to support "sanctuary cities" and incentives for illegal aliens to enter the country, as shown by the governors of New York and California. Governor Andrew Cuomo recently pardoned and released four illegal aliens while referencing Donald Trump, apparently "To Teach Trump a Lesson."[19] By rejecting codified national immigration law in favor of personal Socialist ideals, politicians such as Andrew Cuomo are actually pushing the US towards a civil war. The first civil war was fought in part to establish certain federal laws over state laws, yet this principle is being dramatically rejected by both the Deep State attempts to unseat a duly-elected president and politicians that believe they have the right to go rogue based on their subjective feelings.
Perhaps Democrats believe that they will have more Democrat voters based on a sense of gratitude from their immigrants. Perhaps national strength and sovereignty are negligible compared to globalist goals. For whatever reasons, Democrats have a more socialist-leaning view of immigration law that is not in keeping with actual laws and the text of the US Constitution. For the above reasons, it seems that President Trump is winning in all three categories with regard to the US border debate.
UPDATES and FOLLOW UP
As shocking as it may be, in a live session, Nancy Pelosi doubled down on her 'manufactured crisis' rhetoric and upped the ante calling the death of Ronil Singh an "anecdote" as shown by Diamond and Silk.
In another shocking turn, Nancy Pelosi refused to meet with tax-paying Angel Moms that traveled all the way to her office for a word. And then Twitter shadow-banned the subject "Angel Moms" as the top trend, completely removing it from the trends list.
In what appears to be a blatant lie, Nancy Pelosi stated in a press conference on May 15, 2019: "We have never not said that there was a crisis." This is despite the fact that her Joint Press Release with Senator Schumer explicitly summarized a "crisis that does not exist."
If you use Twitter, consider stopping by some of the Angel Families that could use some encouragement. I've found some, but there are thousands more:
Kathy Hall @jestkathy ; Jamiel Shaw Sr. @real_jamielshaw ; Aileen Smith @Aileenbsmith ; Laura Wilkerson @ljwilk5 ; Sharon Miller (Shari) @Beccababy73; Mother of police Sgt Brandon Mendoza @mamendoza480 ; Agnes Gibboney @agnes_gibboney ; Michelle Root @mroot769
Consider retweeting this message to Pelosi and Schumer:
If you would like to report a crime by an illegal alien as a statistic for the record, a non-governmental organization is helping with this, FNCIC - VOIACM
References
[1] https://www.dailywire.com/news/41953/wapo-fact-check-trumps-illegal-immigrant-arrest-james-barrett
[2] https://cis.org/Report/Immigration-and-Crime
[3] Ibid.
[4] https://www.dailywire.com/news/14176/sex-trafficking-arrests-soar-under-trump-msm-joseph-curl
[5] http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles/CrouseSexFields.php
[6] Ibid.
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpADSHQZVYY
[8] https://templestream.blogspot.com/2018/06/rachel-maddow-and-power-of-emotional.html
[9] Ibid.
[10] https://cis.org/Report/Cost-Border-Wall-vs-Cost-Illegal-Immigration
[11] https://fairus.org/issue/publications-resources/fiscal-burden-illegal-immigration-united-states-taxpayers
[12] https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/271347/feds-indict-new-mexico-terrorist-trainers-matthew-vadum
[13] https://templestream.blogspot.com/2018/06/list-of-documented-dishonesty-and-fake.html
[14] https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/general/one_item_and_teasers/file_not_found.htm
[15] https://www.rferl.org/a/1086063.html
[16] https://www.eurocanadian.ca/2018/11/un-migrant-compact-death-of-nations.html
[17] https://templestream.blogspot.com/2011/10/proof-moral-relativism-is-false.html
[18] https://templestream.blogspot.com/2017/06/video-best-debater-in-world.html
[19] https://newspunch.com/gov-cuomo-pardons-4-illegals-jailed-murder/
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TRANSCRIPTS OF ALL THREE BORDER SPEECHES
Full Transcript of President Trump's Border Wall Speech
(Part 1, Trump explains the border crisis facts)
THE PRESIDENT: My fellow Americans: Tonight, I am speaking to you because there is a growing humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border.
Every day, Customs and Border Patrol agents encounter thousands of illegal immigrants trying to enter our country. We are out of space to hold them, and we have no way to promptly return them back home to their country.
America proudly welcomes millions of lawful immigrants who enrich our society and contribute to our nation. But all Americans are hurt by uncontrolled, illegal migration. It strains public resources and drives down jobs and wages. Among those hardest hit are African Americans and Hispanic Americans.
Our southern border is a pipeline for vast quantities of illegal drugs, including meth, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl. Every week, 300 of our citizens are killed by heroin alone, 90 percent of which floods across from our southern border. More Americans will die from drugs this year than were killed in the entire Vietnam War.
In the last two years, ICE officers made 266,000 arrests of aliens with criminal records, including those charged or convicted of 100,000 assaults, 30,000 sex crimes, and 4,000 violent killings. Over the years, thousands of Americans have been brutally killed by those who illegally entered our country, and thousands more lives will be lost if we don’t act right now.
This is a humanitarian crisis — a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul.
Last month, 20,000 migrant children were illegally brought into the United States — a dramatic increase. These children are used as human pawns by vicious coyotes and ruthless gangs. One in three women are sexually assaulted on the dangerous trek up through Mexico. Women and children are the biggest victims, by far, of our broken system.
This is the tragic reality of illegal immigration on our southern border. This is the cycle of human suffering that I am determined to end.
(Part 2, Trump explains the best border crisis solution)
My administration has presented Congress with a detailed proposal to secure the border and stop the criminal gangs, drug smugglers, and human traffickers. It’s a tremendous problem. Our proposal was developed by law enforcement professionals and border agents at the Department of Homeland Security. These are the resources they have requested to properly perform their mission and keep America safe. In fact, safer than ever before.
The proposal from Homeland Security includes cutting-edge technology for detecting drugs, weapons, illegal contraband, and many other things. We have requested more agents, immigration judges, and bed space to process the sharp rise in unlawful migration fueled by our very strong economy. Our plan also contains an urgent request for humanitarian assistance and medical support.
Furthermore, we have asked Congress to close border security loopholes so that illegal immigrant children can be safely and humanely returned back home.
Finally, as part of an overall approach to border security, law enforcement professionals have requested $5.7 billion for a physical barrier. At the request of Democrats, it will be a steel barrier rather than a concrete wall. This barrier is absolutely critical to border security. It’s also what our professionals at the border want and need. This is just common sense.
The border wall would very quickly pay for itself. The cost of illegal drugs exceeds $500 billion a year — vastly more than the $5.7 billion we have requested from Congress. The wall will also be paid for, indirectly, by the great new trade deal we have made with Mexico.
Senator Chuck Schumer — who you will be hearing from later tonight — has repeatedly supported a physical barrier in the past, along with many other Democrats. They changed their mind only after I was elected President.
Democrats in Congress have refused to acknowledge the crisis. And they have refused to provide our brave border agents with the tools they desperately need to protect our families and our nation.
The federal government remains shut down for one reason and one reason only: because Democrats will not fund border security. My administration is doing everything in our power to help those impacted by the situation. But the only solution is for Democrats to pass a spending bill that defends our borders and re-opens the government.
This situation could be solved in a 45-minute meeting. I have invited Congressional leadership to the White House tomorrow to get this done. Hopefully, we can rise above partisan politics in order to support national security.
Some have suggested a barrier is immoral. Then why do wealthy politicians build walls, fences, and gates around their homes? They don’t build walls because they hate the people on the outside, but because they love the people on the inside. The only thing that is immoral is the politicians to do nothing and continue to allow more innocent people to be so horribly victimized.
America’s heart broke the day after Christmas when a young police officer in California was savagely murdered in cold blood by an illegal alien, who just came across the border. The life of an American hero was stolen by someone who had no right to be in our country.
Day after day, precious lives are cut short by those who have violated our borders. In California, an Air Force veteran was raped, murdered, and beaten to death with a hammer by an illegal alien with a long criminal history. In Georgia, an illegal alien was recently charged with murder for killing, beheading, and dismembering his neighbor. In Maryland, MS-13 gang members who arrived in the United States as unaccompanied minors were arrested and charged last year after viciously stabbing and beating a 16-year-old girl.
Over the last several years, I’ve met with dozens of families whose loved ones were stolen by illegal immigration. I’ve held the hands of the weeping mothers and embraced the grief-stricken fathers. So sad. So terrible. I will never forget the pain in their eyes, the tremble in their voices, and the sadness gripping their souls.
How much more American blood must we shed before Congress does its job?
To those who refuse to compromise in the name of border security, I would ask: Imagine if it was your child, your husband, or your wife whose life was so cruelly shattered and totally broken?
To every member of Congress: Pass a bill that ends this crisis.
To every citizen: Call Congress and tell them to finally, after all of these decades, secure our border. This is a choice between right and wrong, justice and injustice. This is about whether we fulfill our sacred duty to the American citizens we serve.
When I took the Oath of Office, I swore to protect our country. And that is what I will always do, so help me God. Thank you and goodnight.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trumps-address-nation-crisis-border/
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Full Transcript of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer's Response to Trump's speech
(The entire Dem speech focuses on the government shutdown. No specific security facts or solutions are presented.)
Speaker Pelosi: “Good evening. I appreciate the opportunity to speak directly to the American people tonight about how we can end this shutdown and meet the needs of the American people.
Sadly, much of what we have heard from President Trump throughout this senseless shutdown has been full of misinformation and even malice.
The President has chosen fear. We want to start with the facts.
The fact is: On the very first day of this Congress, House Democrats passed Senate Republican legislation to re-open government and fund smart, effective border security solutions.
But the President is rejecting these bipartisan bills which would re-open government - over his obsession with forcing American taxpayers to waste billions of dollars on an expensive and ineffective wall - a wall he always promised Mexico would pay for!
The fact is: President Trump has chosen to hold hostage critical services for the health, safety and well-being of the American people and withhold the paychecks of 800,000 innocent workers across the nation - many of them veterans.
He promised to keep government shutdown for 'months or years' - no matter whom it hurts. That's just plain wrong.
The fact is: We all agree that we need to secure our borders, while honoring our values: we can build the infrastructure and roads at our ports of entry; we can install new technology to scan cars and trucks for drugs coming into our nation; we can hire the personnel we need to facilitate trade and immigration at the border; and we can fund more innovation to detect unauthorized crossings.
The fact is: the women and children at the border are not a security threat, they are a humanitarian challenge - a challenge that President Trump's own cruel and counterproductive policies have only deepened.
And the fact is: President Trump must stop holding the American people hostage, must stop manufacturing a crisis, and must re-open the government.
Thank you.”
Sen. Schumer: “Thank you, Speaker Pelosi.
My fellow Americans, we address you tonight for one reason only: the President of the United States - having failed to get Mexico to pay for his ineffective, unnecessary border wall, and unable to convince the Congress or the American people to foot the bill - has shut down the government.
American democracy doesn't work that way. We don't govern by temper tantrum. No president should pound the table and demand he gets his way or else the government shuts down, hurting millions of Americans who are treated as leverage.
Tonight - and throughout this debate and his presidency - President Trump has appealed to fear, not facts. Division, not unity.
Make no mistake: Democrats and the President both want stronger border security. However, we sharply disagree with the President about the most effective way to do it.
So, how do we untangle this mess?
There is an obvious solution: separate the shutdown from the arguments over border security. There is bipartisan legislation - supported by Democrats and Republicans - to re-open government while allowing debate over border security to continue.
There is no excuse for hurting millions of Americans over a policy difference. Federal workers are about to miss a paycheck. Some families can't get a mortgage to buy a new home. Farmers and small businesses won't get loans they desperately need.
Most presidents have used Oval Office addresses for noble purposes. This president just used the backdrop of the Oval Office to manufacture a crisis, stoke fear, and divert attention from the turmoil in his Administration.
My fellow Americans, there is no challenge so great that our nation cannot rise to meet it. We can re-open the government AND continue to work through disagreements about policy. We can secure our border without an expensive, ineffective wall. And we can welcome legal immigrants and refugees without compromising safety and security.
The symbol of America should be the Statue of Liberty, not a thirty-foot wall.
So our suggestion is a simple one: Mr. President: re-open the government and we can work to resolve our differences over border security. But end this shutdown now.
Thank you.”
https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/trending-now/read-full-transcript-of-nancy-pelosi-and-chuck-schumers-response-to-trumps-speech/901386406
https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/trending-now/read-full-transcript-of-nancy-pelosi-and-chuck-schumers-response-to-trumps-speech/901386406
Tags: reduced border patrol costs in border wall argument, Is a border wall immoral or moral? Fact-checking Trump, Schumer, Pelosi, Who is on the right side of history?
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