Trump Says He Might Close the Border. He Absolutely Should.

In remarks to the press this week, Border Patrol Commissioner Kevin McAleenan warned that crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border was at a point no longer sustainable. Visiting the border in El Paso, McAleenan said that the crisis had now reached “unprecedented” levels that demanded action from Washington.

“That breaking point has arrived this week at our border,” he said. “CBP is facing an unprecedented humanitarian and border security crisis all along our Southwest border.”

At the same time, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol tweeted that this week had seen the highest rate of “apprehensions and encounters” with illegal immigrants in more than ten years.

“CBP saw the highest total of apprehensions and encounters in over a decade on Monday, with 4,000 migrants either apprehended or encountered at ports of entry in a single day. Yesterday, that record was broken again—4,117 in a single day,” read the tweet.

This disturbing situation drew ire from President Trump, who blamed both Democrats and the countries of origin for this unacceptable news.

“Mexico is doing NOTHING to help stop the flow of illegal immigrants to our country,” tweeted Trump. “They are all talk and no action. Likewise, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have taken our money for years, and do nothing. The Dems don’t care, such BAD laws. May close the Southern Border!”

It is, of course, an understatement to say that Democrats “don’t care” about the crisis at the border. Indeed, they deny there is such a thing. The only crisis they see is a president who is actually serious about preserving our national sovereignty. The only crisis they see is a president willing to do what it takes to enforce the law.

Thus, President Trump had little choice but to declare a national emergency last month in an effort to free up funds that could be used to build the wall without congressional approval. And while Congress attempted to block that executive order, Trump returned the resolution with a veto. House Democrats could not muster the votes to override the veto, thus leaving the president clear to pursue his goals – court judgements notwithstanding.

But is a wall – which will take time to build and will not fully address all the problems – really sufficient?

The answer is no. A wall will not stop thousands of so-called “refugees” fleeing Central America from arriving at our ports in search of illegal asylum. Our immigration courts are overloaded and our detention facilities are well beyond full. The only option Border Patrol has right now is to release these “refugees” into the U.S. and hope they return for a court date. That’s the Obama situation. That’s the situation that got us into this mess in the first place. It’s not okay.

So yes, Trump should absolutely shut the border down. Entirely. Will the courts stop him? Will Congress block him? Let them try. Trump has an enormous amount of political capital in hand now that the Mueller investigation is over. It’s time to use it for the good of the nation. Time to use it to fulfill the number one promise of his campaign.

If ever there was an opportunity for this President to go full MAGA, now is that time.