Thread by @RepPaulTonko

A few things to keep in mind as President Trump continues his fiction-filled push to keep the government closed and force taxpayers to build his ineffective border wall

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First, this needless government shutdown is already creating a drag on the economy, stopping countless home and business loans and paychecks for 800,000 federal workers, including 14,367 New Yorkers.

This #TrumpShutdown has hit critical national security agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, Customs and Border Protection, FBI and Drug Enforcement Agency, even the immigration courts responsible for ruling on deportations.

If there is a security and humanitarian crisis at our Southern border today, it has resulted from failure, mismanagement and inhumane treatment by this President and his Administration.

The people seeking asylum here are desperate victims of gang and cartel violence who often present themselves to U.S. authorities legally. More than half are children or families with children vox.com/policy-and-pol…

Applicants for asylum are typically required to wear ankle monitors and work closely with caseworkers to ensure they show up for their asylum hearing. When done in a thoughtful, responsible way, their court appearance rate is at or near 100% politifact.com/punditfact/sta…

Building walls doesn’t solve real immigration issues:
- Most illegal drugs come through ports
- Most undocumented people in the country overstay visas and never cross the border illegally
- Refugees aren’t terrorists, they are the victims of terrorists

President Trump has repeatedly misled and even outright lied to the American people about immigration and immigrants. We have tried to negotiate in good faith. He has proven untrustworthy. cnn.com/videos/politic… & nytimes.com/2018/11/01/us/…

Fact: Illegal immigration in the U.S. has been falling for years, including from Mexico. @CBP data shows that in FY 2017 border apprehensions hit their lowest level in four decades. pewhispanic.org/2018/11/27/u-s…

Fact: The American people don’t want a border wall. It’s a 5th century solution to a 21st century problem. cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-…

Fact: Mexico isn’t paying for this wall. $5 billion from taxpayers should fix real problems e.g.
- Rebuild Flint’s water system & 89 others
- Modernize @DeptVetAffairs record system
- 2x funding for mental health & substance use programs
- Cover 1.4 million Americans via Medicaid

@DeptVetAffairs Fact: President Trump has said numerous times during his presidency that he would like to shut down the government to build his wall, and said just before the current shutdown that he would proud to own this one too.

@DeptVetAffairs Fact: Democrats support strong borders & oppose illegal immigration. We believe the best way to improve our security is to upgrade our ports of entry and invest in 21st century technology to address unauthorized crossings, and have long stood for comprehensive immigration reform.

@DeptVetAffairs We also believe the symbol of our nation should be our Statue of Liberty, not a massive coast-to-coast border wall.

The House of Representatives reached bipartisan agreement last week in a vote to reopen federal agencies the President shut down and to restore paychecks to 800,000 workers. The week before, the Senate voted 100-0 to keep the government open. We are still working to find a way.

This week and next we will be offering legislation to reopen those agencies one at a time to help ensure that home and business loans, tax refunds and other important services continue to be available to the American people.

There's really only one person standing in the way.

In the words of former longtime New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan: “Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts.”

President Trump wants us to forget the facts and who we are as a people. Thankfully we, the people, disagree.