[h=2]We will open fire on the immigrant caravan if they throw stones says Trump as he promises to end to catch and release of illegals and put families in 'tent cities'[/h]
The president unloaded on illegal immigration in a White House speech
Said he was 'finalizing a plan to end the rampant abuse of our asylum system'
He said asylum seekers 'never show up' for trial
He said caravan members were not 'legitimate asylum seekers'
He made the announcement in the Roosevelt Room of the White House
He's leaving after the 4:15 pm announcement for a rally in Columbia, Missouri
President Donald Trump issued a dire warning to would-be immigrants making their way toward the U.S., warning that thousands of U.S. troops being sent to the border would return fire if caravan members throw rocks at them. 'I hope there won't be that. ... anybody throwing stones, rocks ... we will consider that a firearm. Because there's not much difference. When you get hit in the face with a rock ... It was a break-in to a country,' the president said. The president evoked a potentially violent confrontation at the border, and referenced clashes that have occurred in Mexico with Mexican authorities. 'This is an invasion and nobody's really questioning that,' the president added.
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'Anybody throwing stones, rocks ... we will consider that a firearm,' President Donald Trump warned at the White House Thursday
Trump issued the threat as he delivered a long rant about illegal immigration from the White House on Thursday, blasting a clogged court system, called out people who jump the line of legal immigrants, and blasted what he called 'endemic abuse of the asylum system.' Asked at one point about current obligations via U.S. law and treaties to consider asylum claims, the president curtly responded: 'They're going to court, as crazy as it sounds.' The president once again said the U.S. would build tent cities to manage the problem, and said: 'We'll be holding the family and the children together' in the tents. With the election just days away, the president complained about a 'catch and release' immigration system he said failed because people are choosing not to show up for their court appearances. 'They never show up at the trials. They never come back, they're never seen again,' the president vented. The president vowed to 'take every lawful action at my disposal to address this crisis,' and emphasized asylum in particular. But he was vague on providing any details. He said he was 'finalizing a plan to end the rampant abuse of our asylum system.' He complained about drugs, crime, and a caravan of immigrants making its way toward the border. 'We're not releasing them into our country any longer. They'll wait long periods of time.' In one of many tangents, he vented: 'Fentanyl is killing our youth.' The president said members of the caravan would not be getting asylum. "We will be doing an executive order some time next week ... it'll be quite comprehensive." 'These migrants are not legitimate asylum seekers. They're not looking for protection because if they were, they'd be able to get it from Mexico.' He called human traffickers 'The lowest scum on earth.' Trump once again went after the people comprising the caravan. 'These are tough people in many cases. A lot of young men, strong men. And a lot of men that maybe we don't want in our country,' Trump said. But he also acknowledged that many of those drawn to the U.S. were coming to reap the benefits of the U.S. economy. 'We right now have the hottest economy anywhere in the world,' Trump said. 'In some cases they want to take advantage of that,' he allowed. In one of many odd features of his remarks, Trump appeared to thank a crowd when he first entered the Roosevelt Room, even though only reporters and photographers were there and no one had applauded him, which would have been out of the ordinary. 'Thank you very much everyone. Appreciate it,' Trump said. The president was expected to roll out a directive denying asylum to migrants who try to enter the country illegally this afternoon as he takes action to thwart migrant caravans heading toward the United States' southern border. He's likely to say that the action is in the interest of national security, after his repeated warnings that terrorists and criminals may have infiltrated the ranks of mothers and children making the trek from Central America to the U.S. by way of Mexico. Trump also said this week that he wants to get rid of birthright citizenship to discourage migrants from coming to America to giving birth to children who will automatically become United States citizens.
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President Donald Trump is expected to roll out a directive denying asylum to migrants who try to enter the country illegally this afternoon as he takes action to thwart migrant caravans heading toward the United States' southern border
Birthright citizenship is a right that that is widely believed by legal scholars to be offered under the Constitution's equal protection clause. Trump says that wording of the amendment leaves room for him to exercise his authority as the nation's executive to keep children born to illegal immigrants for immediately becoming citizens. The Immigration and Nationality Act similarly requires the federal government to follow asylum laws. However, Trump is expected to push the boundaries of his authority on immigration anyway, just like he did with extreme vetting. It took him three tries, but the proposal was eventually held up by the Supreme Court. Trump said he barred legal residents of countries with ties to terror from temporarily coming to America, because their entry was a national security threat, not because they were from majority-Muslim nations. This week, as he plotted executive actions that would make massive changes to the immigration system days before the mid-term elections, he pointed to Barack Obama's 2012 decree that illegal immigrants who were brought to the country as children could stat in the U.S. indefinitely through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
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A 4,000-strong caravan set out before dawn from Juchitan to Matias Romero, at La Ventosa, Oaxaca State, Mexico, after being denied buses
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The migrants were hoping to compel Mexican authorities to provide transportation for them to Mexico City, but it did not happen, prompting them to continue walking
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Honduran girls hug while waiting in line for a chance to play on the playground at a camp set up by a caravan of thousands of Central American migrants in Juchitan, Mexico, Wednesday
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This map shows the latest positions of the four Central American caravans making their way to the US border
Trump made his most audacious attempt yet on Wednesday night to turn a sea of approaching Central American migrants into a midterm voting issue, tweeting a video linking them to a death row inmate who killed two Sacramento, California police officers after being deported twice from the United States and returning each time. Convicted cop killer Luis Bracamontes famously grinned and swore his way through his trial and sentencing this year, vowing to escape and kill more police officers. He screamed 'F*** you, judge!' during a late January hearing and was banned from attending the rest of his trial in person, watching the remaining days on video monitors. Trump's 55.5 million Twitter followers saw his own take on the case, a recap of the trial's most shocking moments titled: 'Illegal immigrant Luis Bracamontes killed our people!' CNN editorialized through its website: 'Trump campaign releases racist ad.' Network host Don Lemon, under fire for declaring that 'white men' are the greatest threat to the United States, complained Wednesday night during his show about 'how the ad depicts Latinos and immigrants generally. Why is this blatantly racist ad his closing argument before the midterms?'
This Oct. 29, 2018 photo provided by the U.S. Air Force shows a military vehicle loading into the cargo compartment of a C-17 Globemaster III at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The aircrews provided strategic airlift to Headquarters Company, 89th Military Police Brigade, Task Force Griffin, which is deploying to the Southwest border region
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Air Force shows deployers from Headquarters Company, 89th Military Police Brigade, Task Force Griffin get ready to board a C-130J Super Hercules from Little Rock, Arkansas, at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in support of Operation Faithful Patriot
Trump is going all-in on an argument that Democrats would lay out the welcome mat for illegal immigrants whose children will become U.S. citizens and send the check to American workers. The opposing party wants to bring 'caravan after caravan into our country, which brings crime' and leads to the depletion of American resources, he argued on Wednesday at a campaign event. 'Republicans want strong borders, no crime, no chaos and no caravans,' he contended at the rally in Florida. 'A vote for Democrats is a vote for liquidating America's borders.' Trump again claimed that there are 'rough people' in the migrant caravans rolling toward the border. 'They are not angels,' he said of the horde of people that includes women and children. Adding a new element to the immigration argument, he also said, 'We will end finally birthright citizenship.' Democrats want to let illegal immigrants into the country and reward them with a free education, healthcare and the right to vote and then they want to let have children in the United States that will automatically become citizens, he claimed at his rally on Wednesday in Estero. 'Hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant children are made automatic citizens every year because of this crazy policy, and they are all made instantly eligible for every privilege,' he told a boisterous crowd.
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Trump supporters with red 'Make America Great Again' hats cheer the President during the rally in Estero, Florida on Wednesday
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Trump was in Estero to campaign for Governor Rick Scott, the Republican who is running for the U.S. Senate seat held by incumbent Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat
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The opposing party wants to bring 'caravan after caravan into our country, which brings crime' and leads to the depletion of American resources, Trump argued on Wednesday at a campaign event
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Salvadoran migrants embark on a journey in caravan to the United States. They are pictured in San Salvador on Wednesday
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A migrant boy, traveling with a caravan of thousands from Central America en route to the United States, cries while walking along the highway to Juchitan from Santiago Niltepec, Mexico, on Tuesday
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Eight-month-old Hennessy Naomi, part of a caravan of migrants from Central America en route to the United States, is held by her mother Maria Jose Sevilla as they walk to Huixtla from Tapachula, in Viva Mexico, on Wednesday
It's American workers who are paying for it, he argued. 'It costs us billions of dollars a year.' Revisiting an argument he made on Twitter earlier in the day, Trump said that 'back before before the Democratic Party went crazy' they also opposed illegal immigration without strict limits. Like former Democratic leader Harry Reid said in 1993, 'no sane country' would grant automatic citizenship, Trump said. 'That's what he said,' Trump pointed out. 'That's before he went crazy.' By being born in the United States, 'in the very next moment' they are made a citizen for life, the president observed. 'This policy has even created an entire industry of "birth tourism." Big business,' he stated.
Trump insisted at his Wednesday evening rally that the U.S. Constitution does not protect birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants. 'Congress has never passed a law requiring birthright citizenship for illegal aliens, and the Constitution does not —I say that to the media — does not [cover it] because illegal aliens are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.' It's the 14th Amendment that legal scholars say protects birthright citizenship for everyone born in America. But there is now a debate as to whether illegal immigrants are indeed covered under the equal protection clause. They are foreign nationals who may not fall under the 'jurisdiction of the United States' for protection because they are in the country illegally, the president and his advisers have said. Trump wants to strip children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants of their right to citizenship in a crackdown that's intended to disincentive to people from other nations who are thinking of relocating unlawfully to America. He says he'll do it through an executive order that he knows will be challenged. He believes will be held up by the Supreme Court, even though constitutional lawyers say that birthright citizenship protected by the Constitution. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority of Congress for ratification — a quota so intentionally high that only 27 amendments to the governing document have ever been passed. The last one was passed by a two-thirds majority of states and was ratified in May of 1992 after the Senate unanimously agreed and all but three lawmakers in the House determined that it was valid. Trump announced that he was taking action as another caravan of migrants left Central America en route to the United States. 'We'll take care of the caravan folks, you don't have to worry about that,' he asserted in Florida. 'A lot of rough people in those caravans. They are not angels. They are not.' Trump said that when the migrants arrive U.S., they won't be given court dates and sent out their way. 'They're not gonna be released. It's called "catch" and we take the word "release" out,' he said to cheers.
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U.S. soldiers from the 541st Sapper Company are shown transported in an Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft in Fort Knox, Kentucky on Tuesday. The troops are being sent to areas along the southwest border to assist the Department of Homeland Security
Trump told ABC News in an interview just before he took the stage that based on his experience judging crowd sizes, the caravans are larger than most people realize. He claimed that there are mostly 'young men' traveling in the group that 'almost looks like an invasion' and asserted his broad authority to send in the military by deeming the border crisis a national emergency. 'It’s a lot of young people, lot of young men – they are pushing the women right up to the front – not good – and the kids right up to the front,' he told the network, without providing evidence. Trump, who famously instructed former press secretary Sean Spicer to tell reporters his inaugural crowd bested Barack Obama's, made the claim after days of media reports on the substantial masses of people making their way toward the border. A caravan that reached Oaxaca in Mexico was around 4,000 people, a drop from an earlier count of 5,000, and still 900 miles away from the U.S. 'You have caravans coming up that look a lot larger than it’s reported, actually,' Trump told ABC News. And I’ll tell you they look a lot bigger than people would think.' He defended his decision to send up to 15,000 active military troops to the border, and compared them to a 'wall' – although his plan to construct a wall on the border is not yet complete, having received $1.6 billion in funding despite his proposal to spend many times that amount. 'We have to have a wall of people,' Trump said. Interviewer Jonathan Karl asked about the need for the force, noting that many caravan members are women in children. "It’s a lot of young people, lot of young men -- they are pushing the women right up to the front. Not good – and the kids right up to the front,' Trump said. Trump also pushed back when his interviewer said the military was restricted in the duties it can perform and that members could not make arrests. The Posse Comitatus Act proscribes what activities the military can carry out on U.S. soil. 'Well, it depends,' Trump responded. 'National emergency covers a lot of terri–,' Trump said,' cutting off his thought. 'I think it could be considered an invasion of our country, we can't have it,' Trump added. Trump has tweeted that the caravan is a 'National Emergency' but has made no formal declaration as required under the 1976 National Emergencies Act, which governors executive powers.
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Trump said women and children were being moved to the front of the caravan
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He said caravans are 'a lot' larger than is reported
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Trump cited his own expertise in counting crowds. Pictures is a view of the crowd at Trump's inauguration
Trump said Wednesday he may triple the U.S. military contingent being sent to the southern border to 15,000, as he once again pointed to migrant caravans and what he called 'roughness' among its members. Trump spoke on the way to a Florida campaign stop as a fourth caravan began forming, and after the Pentagon on his orders was dispatching 5,200 U.S. military forces to the U.S.-Mexico border. 'As far as the caravan is concerned, our military is out. We have about 5,000, eight [thousand], we'll go up to anywhere between ten and 15,000 military personnel on top of Border Patrol, ICE, and everybody else at the border,' Trump said. A force of that size would exceed the number of troops stationed in Afghanistan. The president also explicitly rejected having a 'fear-mongering' motive when asked about it, having repeatedly tweeted about violent tendencies within the caravan comprised of men, women, and children from Central America, with the elections just six days away. He also has introduced the issue of ending birthright citizenship through an executive order, a method Speaker Paul Ryan and others have criticized given forceful language in the 14th Amendment. 'No, not fear-mongering at all. Immigration's a very important subject,' Trump said. Of the caravan he said: 'Nobody's coming in. We're not allowing people to come in.' The president also pointed to the 'roughness of these people' in the first and second caravans.
