Trump increases border wall demands, threatens Mexico

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U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to close the southern U.S. border with Mexico unless he gets the money he wants for a wall, raising the stakes in a standoff that will present an immediate test next week for the new U.S. Congress.

When Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats took control of the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, they planned to quickly approve a spending measure meant to end a partial government shutdown that began on December 22, triggered by Trump's demand for five billion U.S. dollars in funding his proposed wall.

Democrats have made clear that the House measure, which would then have to go to the Republican-controlled Senate, will not include five billion U.S. dollars Trump said he needed for the wall, a central part of his tougher positions on immigration than his predecessors.

Screenshot of U.S. President Donald Trump's tweet, December 28, 2018. /CGTN Photo

“Democrats are united against the president's immoral, ineffective and expensive wall ... that he specifically promised that Mexico would pay for,” Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said in a statement, referring to a Trump 2016 presidential campaign pledge.

Trump has previously threatened to close the border to prevent Central American immigrants from reaching the border and then entering the United States. Asked about Trump's threat on Friday, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters it was an internal U.S. government matter.

Lopez Obrador added, however: “Of course we will always defend our sovereignty ... We will always protect migrants, defend their human rights.”

Whether Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, Pelosi, and Trump can find a way forward to fully reopen the government will say a lot about the next two years of divided government.

A close congressional ally of Trump on Friday sent a tweet suggesting more partisan confrontation lies ahead. “To Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats: No Wall Money, No Deal,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham wrote on Twitter.

Screenshot of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham's tweet, December 28, 2018. /CGTN Photo

The dispute over Trump's wall has led to the shutdown of “non-essential” operations at numerous agencies because of lack of funding, including the departments of Agriculture, Homeland Security, Interior, Transportation, Commerce and Justice.

Trump is demanding that Congress include his five billion U.S. dollars in legislation that must be passed to restore funding to the agencies that expired at midnight on December 21.

Firing off angry tweets from the White House early on Friday, the president widened his demands.

“We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with,” Trump tweeted. “Either we build (finish) the Wall or we close the Border.”

Mexico: Domestic issue

As the White House mulls whether or not to seal off the southern U.S. border, Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gave a cautious reaction on Friday, saying the decision was a "domestic issue" for the United States.

"We have not issued an opinion on the matter because it is a domestic issue for the U.S. government and we prefer to abstain" from commenting, Lopez Obrador said during his daily press conference.

"We are always looking to maintain very good ties with the United States," he added.

'Proud' to shut down

Earlier this month, Trump said he would be “proud” to shut down the government over border security.

But since the shutdown started, he has tried to blame Democrats. In television interviews on Friday, Trump aides said Democrats have refused to negotiate over the matter.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a military briefing in Iraq, December 26, 2018. /VCG Photo

“We're here, and they know where to find us,” White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said in an interview with Fox News Channel. “Where is Chuck Schumer? Where is Nancy Pelosi? They're not even talking right now,” he said.

Schumer is the top Democrat in the Senate. Pelosi's spokesman said the White House has not reached out formally to her since December 11, when she and Schumer had a contentious, televised Oval Office meeting with Trump.

Pelosi is expected to become speaker of the House on January 3 because Democrats won a House majority in November's elections.

Since their victory, House Democrats have talked about seeking common ground with Republicans, while also promising numerous investigations of Trump, who has painted himself and Republicans in the Senate into a political corner.

Rejecting next week's spending measure from House Democrats would put a Republican stamp on the shutdown. But accepting it would mean backing away from Trump's proposed wall.

Three options

Pelosi and Schumer have been discussing three options for Democratic legislation, according to a senior Democratic aide.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., December 13, 2018. /VCG Photo

One is a stop-gap funding bill that would run through February 8. Another is six full 2019 appropriations bills for all but the Department of Homeland Security, which would be funded through a measure known as a continuing resolution maintaining current funding through September 30. The third is a continuing resolution for all shuttered agencies that would expire on September 30.

The aide said the legislation expected for a full House vote on January 3 could be a variation on any of the three options.

(Top image: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, December 26, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency