Reader react
Each week, the Observer-Reporter asks Facebook friends to respond to a question about an issue in the news. This week, we asked: “What are your thoughts about President Trump declaring a national state of emergency on the border with Mexico?”
Mary Ellen Kania: I would like to say this is a common sense issue! Take President Trump and politics clear out of it! Our country needs safety, law and order! We don’t let strangers come into our homes uninvited with crime, disease, and take away all our benefits that we have worked for our entire lives. So why let them do this to our country? It is hurting the immigrants and the Americans. We can’t live in a society without law and order. The Democrats are only worried about the 2020 elections. I believe they will lose if they don’t care about our safety!
Geraldine Dobscha: I think it’s wonderful the love he has for this country and has been fighting for the wall to protect this nation and the people.
Susan J. Hartger: He is the crisis. The border is not.
Nicola DeThomas: About time someone is finally doing something about the border. I think it’s fantastic.
Nancy Koscho: Our border is certainly in the state of emergency. Our president is doing what we hired him to do. America first!
John Kelley: Waste of money! The issues with drugs, criminals are at entry points and ports. Democrats were willing to upgrade at these areas and give more needed manpower.
Trump’s been in office 2 years. Why just now it’s a national emergency? AND WHAT HAPPENED TO MEXICO WILL PAY FOR IT?
Tredd Barton: I stand with Barack Obama who so eloquently said, “We cannot allow illegal immigrants to pour into this country.”
Becky Rosati: I am happy that we have a president that is looking out for our safety. He is trying and being fought every step of the way. But he is a strong president and I am on his side.
Josh Cole: Somebody has to take a stand for our country. And protect us!
Mimi Homme: A manufactured crisis to boost his political ego and base.
Dolores Zellie Koskey: We need the wall. A wall doesn’t mean aliens can’t come in. It means come in legally, as my grandfather did. When 1,000 of illegals are coming in illegally it is an emergency! Thank you President Trump!
Eric McGrosky: …as stated by the border patrol, there is no emergency. The problems are with the entry points and not enough personnel. This is yet another canard from our president.
Sierra McConnell: I mean, he admitted it’s not really an emergency, soooo
Christine Broderick Rosick: One ILLEGAL crossing is one too many. Build the wall.
Sandee Shimo: Ridiculous! All reports show it’s not needed! A waste of billions of taxpayers money!
Lenora Escott Filby: I would rather see money go to police, firefighters, good roads, education, and help those with devastating medical issues. History shows that walls don’t really keep anyone out….given time they are scaled or tunneled under. So why spend the money on a wall. Put pressure on the countries south of us to reform their governments, make their countries prosperous and safe and and most of these people would stay at their homes.
John M. Cherup: He had two years with the Rrepublicans in control of the House and the Senate to get his border wall. The republicans lose their majority in the recent midterm elections and now the border wall is a national emergency? His corrupt administration and lack of a moral compass are the national emergency.
Tim Stewart: The wall/barrier has been kicked around since Reagan. It is time to build it. It won’t stop everything, but the Border Patrol agents say it will make their job more efficient, given the number of agents they have versus the miles they must protect.
Karen Knisely: The Democrats did not listen to the experts and admitted there was a problem until Trump!! They don’t want to fix the problem!
Jerry Hickman: Simply doing what many other politicians on both sides have “promised” to do and for the same reasons, but probably had no intentions of following through with it. President Trump made that same promise, but is actually following through with it, despite the other politicians who were for it before (only because “Never Trump”). Imagine that! Another promise kept.
Marcy Rigby Sivitz: It’s not a crisis nor a national emergency. He said, and I quote, “I didn’t have to do this.” Meaning, he only did it to save face for a dumb campaign chant he created about a stupid wall – which, mind you – he said Mexico would pay for. So instead he expects us to pay for it. It’s not going to happen.
Jul Tessmer: Our infrastructure, healthcare, gun violence are our emergency. Fix any one of those and people will be happy!
Justin Graham: It’s unconstitutional. We need border security, but we also require checks and balances, and congressional “power of the purse” is a key part of that. Executive branch run amok.
Kathleen Colbert-gibson: To declare a national emergency when there is no emergency is blatant dereliction of duty.
Michelle Roble Stroop: Trump is just taking advantage of the ignorance of his base. The power of the purse belongs to the legislative branch. He did this so they think he’s trying to build a wall; they don’t understand how government works.
Linda Gonzales: He’s saying what presidents before him said. The difference is, he is an effective leader and is actually doing something about the emergency at the border.
Eliecia Progar: I strongly believe that we need greater security at our borders. I also believe the entire immigration process needs vast improvement. He promised he was going to take care of this, and he is a man of his word. He prides himself on success and completion of tasks which makes us lucky to have him dedicated to this task. I agree with calling for an emergency status as he is being blocked by his opponents that would prefer to see America fail rather than see him succeed. The opponents that previously made clear statements about needing to curb immigration and improve security. This makes their current stand suspect at best. I am glad our president makes the safety of our American citizens his top priority. Thank you, President Trump!