“MS-13 recruits through our broken immigration system, violating our borders,” he says.
President Donald continued to brand immigrants as criminals, connecting them with the criminal gangs and called them a national security threat.
Speaking at a White House roundtable attended by law enforcement officials, Trump said MS-13, the criminal gang behind the killings of 25 people in the New York’s Long Island, is the result of loopholes that exist in the immigration system.
“MS-13 recruits through our broken immigration system, violating our borders. And it just comes right through — whenever they want to come through, they come through,” said Trump during his address.
During his State of the Union Address, he started the speech about immigration by mentioning about the notorious gang, which had angered many. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-CA, said the statement was inappropriate from a president. Trump has used MS-13 to attack immigrants repeatedly.
MS-13, or the Mara Salvatrucha 13, is a notorious gang that was first reported in the 1980s in Los Angeles. It is believed to have been formed by refugees fleeing violence in Latin American counties.
Hinting that America could see another federal government shut down if the Democrats in Congress don’t support the immigration framework proposed by his administration, the president said the passing of the package will flush out the gang members from the US.
“We’ve really never seen anything quite like this, the level of ferocity, the level of violence, and the reforms we need from Congress to defeat it,” Trump told law enforcement officials and lawmakers.
“If we don’t get rid of these loopholes where killers are allowed to come into our country and continue to kill … if we don’t change it, let’s have a shutdown,” Trump suggested. “I’d love to see a shutdown if we don’t get this stuff taken care of.”
The latest move is seen as a pressure tactic to force Democrats to support the immigration plan.
On Tuesday Trump cited the accidental death of Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson to prove his point on immigration.
“So disgraceful that a person illegally in our country killed @Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson,” Trump tweeted. “This is just one of many such preventable tragedies. We must get the Dems to get tough on the Border, and with illegal immigration, FAST!”
The president continued his rhetoric against chain immigration calling it a “risk” to the national security. He called for limiting the legal immigrants’ ability to sponsor relatives to become US citizens.