During a roundtable discussion on Friday, President Donald Trump warned migrants that the United States is “full,” The Washington Post reports.
Held before the president’s visit to the international border site in Calexico, California, the roundtable discussion featured staunch warnings to potential immigrants. The president urged them to “turn around,” threatening Mexico with car tariffs unless it helps stop the travelers.
“Can’t take you anymore. Can’t take you. Our country is full. Our area is full, the sector is full. Can’t take you anymore. I’m sorry. So turn around. That’s the way it is.”
Echoing his recent comments, the president slammed asylum seekers, arguing that the vast majority of them are, in fact, gang members. Trump called the immigrants’ claims of persecution a “hoax.”
“It’s a scam, okay? It’s a scam. It’s a hoax,” he said.
“I know about hoaxes. I just went through a hoax,” Trump added, referring to the recently concluded investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination between Trump campaign officials and the Kremlin, conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
It did not take long for some Democrats to take note of Trump’s comments.
“It’s just a ridiculous statement,” said Washington Representative Pramila Jayapal, explaining that the U.S. agriculture industry is in a desperate need of workers, and adding that immigration is not only a question of policy “but who we are as a country.”
As The Washington Post notes, Trump has repeatedly threatened to shut the southern border down, urging Mexico to help the United States combat illegal immigration. Today, however, the president changed his tune, focusing on tariffs against automobiles manufactured in Mexico. The president’s strategy, he claims, is already paying off because Mexico has been “absolutely terrific.”
Trump tells migrants to go home because US ‘is full’ https://t.co/yi137pSetP pic.twitter.com/oPcN6EuZn0
— New York Post (@nypost) April 5, 2019
But after praising the United States’ southern neighbor, Trump criticized the country again, threatening tariffs, and suggesting once again that he would be willing to shut the border down.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , the Trump administration appears to have embarked on yet another immigration crackdown. The president has started taking aim at asylum seekers, while blaming Mexico, and the Democratic Party for what is being described as a crisis at the southern border.
Furthermore, Trump recently cut humanitarian aid to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, in an alleged effort to reduce the number of illegal immigrants. According to critics, cutting off aid will only increase the numbers.
Much like the president, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has urged the Democrats to help with the crackdown, suggesting in her letter to Congress that law enforcement officials need more funding to protect the border.