Commentary: Today, President Trump delivered a live, televised speech to the nation where he spread more lies and falsehoods to try to justify his border wall. This is the latest in Trump’s effort to manufacture a crisis in the southern border despite the reality that his proposed border wall is unnecessary, harmful and wasteful.
While Trump’s government shutdown extends into its third week, 800,000 federal workers are furloughed or forced to work without pay. President Trump is wrong to use federal workers and their families, along with asylum-seekers, immigrant youth, border communities or anybody else as political bargaining chips for a hateful campaign promise.
Johana Bencomo, director of organizing for NM Comunidades en Acción y de Fe (CAFé) and co-chair of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, issued the following statement:
“What we heard tonight from Trump is more lies, falsehoods and manipulations about what really is going on in our communities. Trump is manufacturing a crisis in one of the safest, most vibrant places in our nation to fulfill a campaign promised based on hate and fear. He is scapegoating immigrants and asylum seekers to justify his deadly and harmful wall, and is blatantly ignoring the real issue: the hyper-militarization of the southern border and the damage it has already caused.
Our southern border is a place of encounter, warmth, and resiliency--our people are proof of that everyday. Walls and hyper-militarization don’t make us safer, but do hurt the 15 million people who call the southern border region home, endanger wildlife and the environment, and are a waste of taxpayer dollars. We need policies that revitalize our communities, not militarize them.”
ABOUT THE SOUTHERN BORDER COMMUNITIES COALITION
The Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) brings together organizations from San Diego, California, to Brownsville, Texas, to ensure that border enforcement policies and practices are accountable and fair, respect human dignity and human rights, and prevent the loss of life in the region.