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President Donald Trump has more public support for his argument that the nation is facing a border crisis than Democrats have for their claim that the nation is merely facing a “problem” on the border, according to a Morning Consult poll released Tuesday evening.

Forty-two percent of voters say the “U.S. is facing a crisis,” while only 37 percent say the “U.S. is facing a problem,” according to the poll of 1,989 registered voters, which was conducted with Politico.

Amid the flows of migrants and drugs from Central America, 12 percent say the U.S. “isn’t facing a problem or crisis,” according to the poll, which was conducted January 4 to 6.

Trump’s “crisis” argument is backed by 72 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of independents, and 19 percent of Democrats.

The Democrats’ “problem” rhetoric is backed by 19 percent of Republicans, 37 percent of independents, and 52 percent of Democrats.

Twenty-one percent of Democrats — but just four percent of Republicans and ten percent of independents — say the cross-border flow of cheap labor and drug-smuggling is neither a problem nor a crisis.

The poll is bad news for Democrats, who are increasingly claiming there is no border crisis that President Trump can cite to declare a national emergency and then build a border wall with unspent funds.

Just to be clear: there is no basis to declare a national emergency. https://t.co/ZrfjzqdZR6

— Eric Holder (@EricHolder) January 8, 2019

However, a series of lawyers admitted to establishment media outlets that existing laws provide Trump with the legal authority to build a wall after declaring a national emergency.

Left-lawyers admit past Congresses gave Trump emergency powers which he can use to build a wall with federal funds. Ooops. Next: Dems will argue that migrant/drug crisis is not a real crisis b/c Dems & biz are OK with it. https://t.co/sNoDj7Qc1w

— Neil Munro (@NeilMunroDC) January 8, 2019

The poll also showed 44 percent support for a border wall and 47 percent opposition to a border wall. Eighty-three percent of Republicans and 13 percent of Democrats support the wall, while 83 percent of Democrats and 14 percent of Republicans oppose the wall.

However, the poll also shows lopsided opposition to government shutdowns. Sixty-five percent of voters say “Presidents should take all necessary steps to avoid a government shutdown. They should achieve their policy goals another way,” while 22 percent said, “Presidents should allow a temporary government shutdown if it helps them achieve their policy goals.”

Twenty-nine percent said Trump has done enough to foster agreement, while 52 percent said he has not done enough to avert a shutdown.

If Mitt Romney wanted to pick a fight in Washington with his op-ed criticizing Donald Trump, he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. His new colleagues didn’t see the point, and now they’re going on the record to express their displeasure. Politico gathered up quite a few attributed quotes suggesting that Romney would do better to shut up and learn the job before launching op-eds that distract from their agenda.

In other words, Mitt Romney’s the GOP’s Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I kid, I kid … kinda:

Sen. David Perdue of Georgia, a close Trump ally, dismissed Romney’s op-ed as an “attempted character assassination” and “deeply disappointing,” dubbing Romney a potential “Jeff Flake on steroids” in his own Washington Post op-ed. Most Senate Republicans won’t go that far, but they aren’t particularly happy about how Romney chose to enter office.

“Everybody’s got their strategy and their tactic. Mine is going to be to try and help the president and our country be successful. Mitt’s got a different take,” Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, a fellow freshman, said. “I haven’t talked to anybody that’s encouraged by” his approach.

“The timing was kind of curious,” said new Senate Majority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, who said Romney’s gravitas as a former GOP presidential nominee gives everything he says extra weight. “I wouldn’t have advised him to do it right now.”

Not all of the quotes from Romney’s colleagues were on the record. One Senator told Politico’s reporters on background that his strange timing for the op-ed and its regurgitation of Romney’s campaign messaging made them suspicious of Romney’s motives. “If you’re in the room,” the unnamed member said about caucus strategizing, “it will cause you to go back just a little, ‘What’s he thinking?’”

That’s still the question at hand. The column would have made sense if Romney planned to launch a primary campaign against Trump in this cycle, which would have to begin in the next few months. Romney insists that he won’t do that, however. It might have made sense if Romney had focused on a particular policy for his dissent, but other than the dismissal of James Mattis, there was nothing pressing or specific about Romney’s attack. Most of the complaints were old news and more about Trump’s personal qualities rather than policies, on which Romney professed broad agreement with Trump. So what was the point?

If it was just to reinforce the idea that politicians should refrain from unnecessary personal attacks, James Lankford thinks Romney himself missed the point — and the irony:

“It kind of felt like the same thing Trump does to everybody, Romney does to Trump. Smack you, and then want to negotiate,” said Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma. “It is funny to me that while he was complaining about President Trump’s personal attacks, he was personally attacking President Trump. I don’t know if he sees the irony in it.”

Trump does that for self-promotion, mainly. Romney’s new colleagues seem to think Romney had the same motives, and at their expense. Small wonder they’re not exactly rolling out the welcome wagon this week.

Another burden on the taxpayers.

Via Fox News:

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday announced plans to launch “the largest, most comprehensive plan in the nation” to guarantee health care coverage for all city residents, including those in the country illegally.

“Health care is a right, not a privilege reserved for those who can afford it,” de Blasio said in a statement. “While the federal government works to gut health care for millions of Americans, New York City is leading the way by guaranteeing that every New Yorker has access to quality, comprehensive access to care, regardless of immigration status or their ability to pay.”

The liberal mayor said the plan will serve the 600,000 New Yorkers who don’t have insurance by strengthening NYC’s public health insurance option, MetroPlus.

It will also guarantee health care access to those ineligible for insurance, including illegal immigrants who live in New York. That program, NYC Care, will launch this summer and will cost at least $100 million annually at full scale, the city said.

In a tweet, de Blasio said the plan will “ensure the first stop for people isn’t the emergency room.” He argued that preventative care and access to primary care doctors will cut down on emergency room visits.

But it’s unclear how the program will be funded, and Republicans swiftly objected to using taxpayer dollars to pay for health care for those in the country illegally.

“Our citizens have hard enough time covering their own healthcare costs,” Nicole Malliotakis, a member of the New York State Assembly who represents Brooklyn and Staten Island, tweeted. “Now, @nycmayor also wants them to pay for healthcare of 300,000 citizens of other countries. He must stop abusing the middle class and treating us like his personal ATM.”

Keep reading…

Parents that should be in the audience at tonight’s address by President Trump. Update to this story.

Via Fox News:

The parents of a 22-year-old Tennessee man who was killed after a suspected illegal immigrant allegedly swerved into oncoming traffic spoke to Fox News Monday night about their grief and desire for stronger border security in America.

“It’s been the hardest thing of our lives, I can’t even explain it,” Wendy Corcoran said on “Hannity,” noting border security isn’t being taken seriously enough. Pierce Kennedy Corcoran, the son of Knoxville Fire Department Capt. D.J. Corcoran, was killed in a head-on car crash last month.

Franco Cambrany Francisco-Eduardo, 44, was charged with criminally negligent homicide and driving without a license or insurance, and he was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

He is set for a preliminary hearing Thursday, The Knoxville News Sentinel reported.

The mom told Sean Hannity she and her husband taught their children to be responsible, and the alleged negligent suspect didn’t abide by the same responsibility that Pierce did.

His obituary noted her son was a promising, well-rounded man: “In his 22 years, he tried his hand at every sport possible, developing a love of golf, soccer, tennis and running 2 marathons in 2017. He became an advocate for eating healthy and exercising daily. He was in the process of completing his personal trainer certification.”

Hannity read a letter she wrote that said her son deserved better than a senseless death, and that immigrants who come to the U.S. ought to come legally and become responsible citizens.

Her husband, Capt. Corcoran, added: “We are not a hating people. We love, and we rally behind people — the underdogs who come here to America and succeed legally, and that’s what we want.”

Keep reading…

The Angel Parents of 22-year-old Pierce Corcoran of Knoxville, Tennessee are speaking out after their son was killed in a head-on collision allegedly caused by an illegal alien.

As Breitbart News reported, Pierce Corcoran — an aspiring personal trainer — was killed in a head-on car crash allegedly caused by 44-year-old illegal alien Franco Cambrany Francisco-Eduardo days before New Year’s Eve.

The illegal alien, police said, was driving without a license and without proper registration for his vehicle. He has been charged with negligent homicide and driving without a license.

In interviews with Fox News and WATE 6, Wendy and DJ Corcoran said their son’s life “meant something,” but that the government has made it seem as though it did not.

“Absolutely, [the government is] to blame. You cannot come here and not … I mean we are re-victimized by the system and we’ve just learned that,” Wendy told Fox News. “We’ve seen other people deal with this and felt for them … much more tragic in some ways. And it’s just, it’s injust. Our son’s life meant something and our government makes us feel as if it didn’t. That somebody that had no right to be here matters more.”

22-year-old Pierce Corcoran — an aspiring personal trainer — was killed in a head-on car crash allegedly caused by 44-year-old illegal alien Franco Cambrany Francisco-Eduardo days before New Year’s Eve. (KPD)

“We aren’t taking [illegal immigration] seriously,” she continued. “We’ve taught our children to be responsible and we don’t feel like anyone else is being expected the same thing. He was 22-years-old and the man that was negligent in this case, he didn’t abide by the same responsibility that our son did. And he’s still not expected to.”

A border wall, Wendy said, is a sign of hope for Americans that illegal immigration will be ended.

“A lot of talk about the wall, I think as Americans, the wall is a symbol to them that something is being done,” Wendy told WATE 6.

Family members of Pierce have create a Facebook and Twitter account in his memory, both titled “Justice for Pierce Corcoran.” In a viral online post, Piece’s older brother remembers him and said he hopes to share his story.

My baby brother Pierce was tragically killed in a wreck in Knoxville,TN on Saturday, December 29th, 2018 at 6:33pm.He was hit head on by an illegal immigrant who had no American citizenship, no license and no insurance.
I am making this profile in the hopes of sharing his story. pic.twitter.com/5tyoz9RIkD

— Justice For Pierce Corcoran (@Justice4Pierce) January 4, 2019

Francisco-Eduardo’s first court date is set for January 10, and he is currently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. The passenger in the car with Pierce, 21-year-old Jade Damecia Adams, remains in recovery.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.

Donald Trump ran for office on a promise of securing the southern U.S. border with a massive wall made of concrete, one that got “ten feet taller” whenever it was criticized by detractors.

Trump has not backed down from that campaign promise, although a few modifications have been made to what was initially envisioned.

Democrats have cried foul over the construction of a massive concrete barrier — and even the U.S. Border Patrol agents who demand a wall would prefer a barrier they can see through. So, the president recently shifted his talk of a border wall away from concrete in favor of concrete-reinforced “steel slats.”

The Hill reported that Trump reiterated that shift in vision on Sunday at the White House after he returned from a meeting at Camp David with administration officials, and seemingly trolled his anti-concrete detractors on the left by repeatedly emphasizing the “steel” aspect of his proposed border barrier.

“So we’ve been in touch with a lot of people, and I informed my folks to say that we’ll build a steel barrier, steel, it’ll be made out of steel,” Trump told reporters gathered on the White House lawn.

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“It’ll be less obtrusive and it’ll be stronger, and we’re able to use our great companies to make it by using steel,” he continued. “So, we’re going to be doing a steel barrier, and that gives us great strength at the border.”

No doubt in reference to the Democrats, Trump reportedly added, “They don’t like concrete, so we’ll give them steel.”

Later on Sunday evening, Trump shared a similar message with his tens of millions of followers on social media: “V.P. Mike Pence and group had a productive meeting with the Schumer/Pelosi representatives today. Many details of Border Security were discussed. We are now planning a Steel Barrier rather than concrete. It is both stronger & less obtrusive. Good solution, and made in the U.S.A.”

V.P. Mike Pence and group had a productive meeting with the Schumer/Pelosi representatives today. Many details of Border Security were discussed. We are now planning a Steel Barrier rather than concrete. It is both stronger & less obtrusive. Good solution, and made in the U.S.A.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2019

In a separate report on Sunday which revealed that Trump has not backed down from his vow to secure the border with some sort of barrier, The Washington Post reported on a letter sent to congressional leaders that provided details on how the requested border security appropriations would be spent, while simultaneously asking for more funds and reiterating that the border barrier would be steel instead of concrete.

The letter came from Russel Vought, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, who stressed that a border wall was “central to any strategy” for border security, and specifically requested $5.7 billion for the construction of “234 miles of new physical barrier” that would be comprised of steel. It also introduced a new request for $800 million in funding to address the “humanitarian crisis” at the border.

The White House also released an official statement on Tuesday which mirrored the letter to Congress and called on them to “do more” while it also explained the various planned expenditures.

Aside from the requested $5.7 billion for the 234 miles of steel barriers, the administration also requested hundreds of millions in other border security-related funding requests — such as for certain new technologies, more Border Patrol and ICE agents, transportation and humanitarian supplies and more immigration judges and detention center beds.

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The statement also conveniently listed the differences between their requested amounts and how much Congress had already offered to grant them, which revealed that the administration sought an additional $5.6 billion more than the grand total of $5.1 billion already approved by Congress … of which a mere $1.6 billion was allocated by Congress to repair existing fencing, but not for any new construction.

Trump has made it abundantly clear that he will build a border barrier one way or another, and while he would greatly prefer to obtain the necessary funding through the congressional appropriations process, he has said he could utilize alternative means, such as the declaration of a national emergency.

Though the ultimate design of the border wall may have changed from solid concrete to steel slats, the point remains that a wall of some sort will be built, with or without Congress, who can do little but fume as Trump trolls them with his beautiful and “aesthetically-pleasing” steel slats wall.

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