Local Reaction To President Trump’s Address Regarding Border Security

Oregon – (Update) We are getting reaction from Oregon’s Congressional Delegation to the President’s speech. Senator Jeff Merkley says the only crisis at the southern border is the humanitarian crisis the President and his administration created by ripping babies away from their parents arms. Senator Ron Wyden says Trump’s border crisis is one of his own making. Congressman Greg Walden said he “supported securing our border with barriers, walls, technology and fences more than a decade ago” and that “Congress should come together with the President to finish the job.” However, he said he doesn’t agree that it makes sense to furlough federal workers.

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Original story:

Washington, D.C. –President Trump says there is a growing humanitarian and security crisis at the U.S.-Mexican border. In his first Oval Office address tonight, Trump called it a crisis of the “heart and soul.” Trump said women and children are the biggest victims of illegal immigration. He said illegal immigration strains public resources. Trump also noted the flow of illicit drugs across the border.

Congressional Democrats are accusing President Trump of promoting misinformation and malice. Responding to President Trump’s address on border security tonight, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump has chosen fear over facts. She argued that there are smart and effective bipartisan solutions that would curb illegal immigration. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Trump prompted the ongoing, partial government shutdown in a tantrum over building a massive border wall.

Schumer called the wall ineffective and unnecessary. Pelosi accused Trump of holding the American people hostage with the shutdown. Schumer said the symbol of America should be the Statue of Liberty, not a 30-foot wall.

KXL Political Expert and Assistant Professor of Political Science at Lewis & Clark College Ben Gaskins, discussed what was said with Portland’s Afternoon News Anchors Lucinda Kay and Cooper Banks.