Staff Editorial: The Dire Democratic Dilemma

Staff Editorial

SERENA LIN Staff Writer

 

Since midnight on Dec. 22, 2018, there has been a partial government shutdown revolving around the 5.7 billion dollars in funding President Donald Trump says is needed to build a wall on the southern U.S. border. As stated in The Guardian, this issue has affected 25 percent of the federal government and has caused 800,000 federal workers to no longer receive paychecks for the hours they put in. Until the issue is solved, the government will continue to stay shut down for as long as the president wishes.

Currently, the House of Representatives, which is run in majority by Democrats, is what stands in the way of President Trump and funding for the wall. The Democrats should continue to stand their ground. The wall itself is useless and caving in now would make the Democrats look weak. While Trump vows to stop undocumented immigration using this border wall, according to the Center for Migration Studies, two-thirds of undocumented immigrants come to the U.S by overstaying their visas.

Many experts also say the wall would be ineffective, since many could simply climb over it with ladders, go around it, or dig under it. President Trump also wanted to use the border as a method to stop drugs, like heroin, from coming into the U.S. However, according to the Washington Post, most imported heroin comes into the U.S using legal entry points. Some believe that Democrats should try and negotiate a deal with Trump in order to end the shutdown instead of refusing to hand over any money, especially since 800,000 federal workers are suffering because of these decisions.

That option is practically pointless, however, since in a meeting with Democratic leaders to discuss funding, Trump walked out and ended the meeting because they continue to stand against him. He refused to sign any budget bill without the border wall funding, even though $1.3 billion had already been approved for border security. Although Democrats, like Senator Chris Coons, urged the president to support a bipartisan compromise with $1.3 billion dollars going to border security, the stalemate continues.

Democrats should stand their ground also because of what the funding cuts. Funding for the wall would mean that other programs that the federal government is funding will also have their budgets cut. In fact, Trump’s wall budget would even decrease funds for the coast guard and airport security, making them less effective in doing their jobs. Nothing good will come out of building the border wall, which is why the Democrats need to stand against the president and his border wall.