President Donald Trump visited prototypes of his planned wall along the Mexican border and promised a huge payoff for USA taxpayers if Congress approves funding for construction.
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Some young people known as Dreamers, who entered the country illegally as children but have grown up in the USA, have seen Mr Trump end a programme that offered protection from deportation, planned a vigil to highlight what they callled “hateful rhetoric and xenophobic tendencies”.
Trump was greeted at LAX by Shawn Steel, a member of the Republican National Committee, his wife, Orange County Supervisor Michelle Steel, and Andy Gharakhani, the executive director of the Los Angeles Chapter of New Majority, a political action committee which describes itself as promoting a fiscally responsible philosophy in government and an inclusive mainstream approach toward politics. Jerry Brown in 2017.
“We’re here to welcome Trump and demonstrate the California is not against him”, said Sherry Stone, a resident of Ventura County who traveled to watch the president head to the wall prototypes.
Beyond the jokes, there was an undertone of sadness and anger among some locals, who said Central American and Mexican immigrants offered more to the United States than they take. “The place is totally out of control”.
The White House has frequently singled out for attack so-called sanctuary cities, where city officials do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement to deport criminal aliens.
He is also the first president since Dwight Eisenhower to skip a visit to the “Golden State” during the first year in office.
Air Force One landed at Los Angeles International Airport at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
While in California on Tuesday, Trump will also speak at select military bases.
Trump later attended a high-dollar fundraiser near Los Angeles, where he was staying overnight. Still, Trump has signaled that community will be the first for robust border wall construction and prototypes are now under construction in Imperial and Calexico.
Trump emphasized the need for border security mainly to keep out crime and drugs.
“We have to have a way to X-ray all these cargo things coming in through port of entry”, said Hunter.
A small number of Trump supporters also came to the Beverly Hills park.
He took issue with California’s support for sanctuary policies, saying Gov. He hasn’t made much progress on that latter part, but has refused to cave on it either, which has strained relations with Mexico and led to cancellation of several planned meetings between Mr. Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.
The suit targets three laws passed by the legislature previous year that prohibit local law enforcement from alerting federal immigration agents when detainees are released from custody, make it a crime for business owners to voluntarily help federal agents find undocumented workers and create a state inspection program for federal immigration detention centers.
CBS Los Angeles said people peacefully protested Trump’s visit, chanting, “No ban!”
“I even think they’ll try to cross with those pole vaults that they use in the Olympics”, he said with a grin.
Speaking later at California’s Marine Corps Air Station, the President suggested there could be a “space force” akin to the country’s air force. It’s good jobs. Good schools.
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Kathy Robinson, 55, from Burbank, said walls have been effective security measures in other places.
