WASHINGTON, July 30, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – U.S. President Donald Trump on
Sunday threatened to shut down the U.S. government if the Democratic Party
does not cooperate on border security issues.
“I would be willing to ‘shut down’ government if the Democrats do not give
us the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall! Must get rid of
Lottery, Catch & Release etc. and finally go to system of Immigration based
on MERIT! We need great people coming into our Country!” Trump said on
Twitter.
The threat came on top of another fiery tweet posted earlier Sunday, which
said “please understand, there are consequences when people cross our Border
illegally, whether they have children or not – and many are just using
children for their own sinister purposes. Congress must act on fixing the
DUMBEST & WORST immigration laws anywhere in the world! Vote ‘R,'” referring
to Republicans.
The tweets were in response to attacks on the U.S. government’s family
separation policy, which saw thousands of minors separated from their parents
who entered the United States illegally.
The controversy that ensued the family separation policy caused many
Republican lawmakers to distance themselves from Trump’s tough immigration
agenda, and has stalled legislative progress in Congress for comprehensive
immigration reform, which had been a major promise for his supporters since
his 2016 campaign.
However, Trump’s menacing tweets were rebuffed even by his own party
members, who said shutting down the government will not be helpful.
Congressman Steve Stivers, a Republican from Ohio, downplayed the
possibility of a shutdown in a TV interview on Sunday, saying: “I think we’re
going to make sure we keep the government open.”
The U.S. federal government has been occasionally shut down in recent
years, mostly when Congress failed to reach a spending bill due to political
fights.