FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2019

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Juan Gastelum, 213-375-3149
Hayley Burgess, 202-805-0375

Trump Is Obsessed with Vanity Wall and Willing to Hurt Millions of People to Get It

WASHINGTON — As the government shutdown drags into its third week, President Trump gave a speech on prime-time network television Tuesday evening in a desperate attempt to secure funding for his border wall project.

Marielena Hincapié, executive director at the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“President Trump’s prime-time tirade today once again highlights his preference for showy displays over substantive policy solutions and reveals an alarming commitment to perpetuating lies and fearmongering in order to secure funding for his border wall vanity project. While Trump angrily spouts lies about a false crisis that his administration manufactured at the border, he is recklessly disregarding the very real impact of his actions on the lives and livelihoods of not only border communities, but all who call this country home. For the past several weeks, he has stubbornly refused to negotiate solutions that will keep our country functioning and safe. In the meantime, two children have unconscionably died in U.S. government custody, thousands of government workers are being denied their incomes, treasured national parks are in disarray, and Native American communities are being disproportionately deprived of critical services.

“American taxpayers have made their views clear. As citizens and as people, we must not only hold our government accountable for spending our taxpayer dollars wisely, but also demand that it take responsibility and address the deaths of the two children under its care and the dangerous situation it is creating for communities on the southern border. Anything less is shameful. Our government cannot get away with this blatant and dangerous disregard for human lives.”

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