White House Wants Funding for Border Wall

White House wants funding for border wallOn Monday, the White House declared it was very confident that there would not be a government shutdown over a funding dispute later this week. This was at the same time as continuing to echo President Donald Trump’s call to include money to construct a wall on the border between the US and Mexico, a move opposed by most Democrats.

The current US government operations spending plan expires on Friday. This means that Congressional negotiators and the President have only a few days to come to an accord on funding priorities through to 30 September. Sean Spicer, the spokesman for President Trump, says that his two budget talk priorities are an increase in defense spending, including extra funds for border security, and constructing the border wall to reduce illegal immigration.

During last year’s Presidential campaign, Trump pledged to build a 1300-kilometer barrier on the southern border of the US and have it paid for by Mexico, the leaders of which have refused to do so. Spicer says that the President will make use of the current appropriations process to get moving on the wall and border security, ensuring his election promises are kept, and that the first step is to get going with the funding.

Border crossings have fallen since Trump was sworn in as US President three months ago. But, Spicer insists the construction of the wall remains necessary to ensure that illegal immigration remains low even after Trump’s time in the White House has ended.