The table is perfectly set: It’s time for Democrats to join

On Friday, President Donald J. Trump set the table for a bipartisan compromise on immigration reform, reopening the Government and giving Congress a three-week window to continue negotiations to fully fund American border security.

“Over the next 21 days, I expect that both Democrats and Republicans will operate in good faith,” the President announced from the White House Rose Garden. “If we make a fair deal, the American people will be proud of their Government for proving that we can put country before party.”

Border security shouldn’t be controversial. In fact, America has built 654 miles of barrier over the past 15 years. It’s time to listen to our Border Patrol agents and finish the job, securing areas of the border where criminals, drug cartels, and human traffickers continue to exploit vulnerabilities in our infrastructure.

“We do not need 2,000 miles of concrete wall from sea to shining sea—we never did. We never proposed that; we never wanted that,” the President said Friday. “Our proposed structures will be in pre-determined high-risk locations that have been specifically identified by the Border Patrol to stop illicit flows of people and drugs.”

Experts agree. “The president is right. The wall works,” said Mark Morgan, President Obama’s former Border Patrol Chief.

Need more evidence? On Friday—the very day President Trump announced a 3-week window for negotiations—U.S. border agents seized two duffel bags filled with 17 long-arm rifles, shotguns, and ammunition on a ranch near the U.S.–Mexico border in Texas. It’s common for guns and money to flow across the border in exchange for illicit drugs.

Republicans are ready to make a deal that puts a stop to this lawlessness. It’s time for sensible Democrats to join them. Many have already broken ranks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s comment that border walls are “immoral.” They’re right to do so: The safety and security of American citizens must always come before politics.

Watch President Trump’s message—“Build a wall and crime will fall!”

More: President Trump announces the end of the shutdown

Photo of the Day

Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead

President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem. Yesterday, January 27, marked the observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. | May 23, 2017