This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/us/politics/trump-arizona.html

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Trump Travels to Arizona to Boast About Wall and Press Immigration Issue Trump Travels to Arizona to Boast About Wall and Press Immigration Issue
(about 3 hours later)
President Trump traveled to the southwestern border on Tuesday to lift his flagging re-election campaign with a renewed anti-immigrant appeal, bragging about his sustained assault on migrants and once again exaggerating the progress his administration has made in constructing a “big, beautiful wall” along the border with Mexico.President Trump traveled to the southwestern border on Tuesday to lift his flagging re-election campaign with a renewed anti-immigrant appeal, bragging about his sustained assault on migrants and once again exaggerating the progress his administration has made in constructing a “big, beautiful wall” along the border with Mexico.
In a visit with handpicked border officials and Republican allies in Yuma, Ariz., Mr. Trump sought to revive the issue at the heart of his 2016 victory: his portrayal of immigrants as a threat to the economic and personal security of Americans and his promise to close the United States off from much of the world. In a visit with handpicked border officials and Republican allies in Yuma, Ariz., Mr. Trump sought to revive the issue at the heart of his 2016 victory: his portrayal of immigrants as a threat to the economic and personal security of Americans, and his promise to close the United States off from much of the world.
“My administration has done more than any administration in history to secure our southern border,” Mr. Trump boasted, citing the completion of about 220 miles of what he called a “powerful new” wall on the border. “It’s the most powerful and comprehensive border wall structure anywhere in the world.”“My administration has done more than any administration in history to secure our southern border,” Mr. Trump boasted, citing the completion of about 220 miles of what he called a “powerful new” wall on the border. “It’s the most powerful and comprehensive border wall structure anywhere in the world.”
For more than a half-hour, the president elicited gushing praise from his border and immigration officials, who lauded his “leadership and determination” and repeatedly thanked the president for what Mark Morgan, the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, called “220 new miles of wall system that gives us an enhanced capability that we never had.” The president’s visit to Yuma, which included a brief stop at a section of the wall, followed by a day his decision to suspend most worker visas for the rest of the year, effectively denying entry into the United States for more than 500,000 foreigners, including those seeking green cards to join their family members.
Mr. Trump has used the threat of the coronavirus to accelerate his efforts to shut down legal and illegal immigration, citing rarely used public health laws to turn back asylum seekers and impose other travel restrictions. But the centerpiece of the president’s efforts to stop the flow of immigration has always been the wall.
For more than a half-hour on Tuesday, Mr. Trump elicited gushing praise from his border and immigration officials, who lauded his “leadership and determination” and repeatedly thanked the president for what Mark Morgan, the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, called “220 new miles of wall system that gives us an enhanced capability that we never had.”
In fact, all but three of the 216 miles of border wall constructed by the Trump administration are essentially much larger replacements of existing, dilapidated fences or vehicle barriers — a fact that Mr. Trump and his immigration advisers routinely dismiss.In fact, all but three of the 216 miles of border wall constructed by the Trump administration are essentially much larger replacements of existing, dilapidated fences or vehicle barriers — a fact that Mr. Trump and his immigration advisers routinely dismiss.
The rate of construction has increased as the administration waived federal contracting laws, pressing ahead with 100 miles of wall in the past five months. But Mr. Trump will not make good on his original campaign promise to build a wall along the entire border and have Mexico pay for it. Instead, Mr. Trump secured much of the $15 billion of funding from other government and military spending to build the barrier.The rate of construction has increased as the administration waived federal contracting laws, pressing ahead with 100 miles of wall in the past five months. But Mr. Trump will not make good on his original campaign promise to build a wall along the entire border and have Mexico pay for it. Instead, Mr. Trump secured much of the $15 billion of funding from other government and military spending to build the barrier.
And he has a long way to go to reach his more modest milestone of 450 miles of constructed border wall by the end of the year. Standing in his way are private landowners in South Texas, one of the areas along the border most prone to illegal crossings. More than 200 miles of the proposed wall construction must take place on private land in the Laredo and Rio Grande Valley sectors of Texas.And he has a long way to go to reach his more modest milestone of 450 miles of constructed border wall by the end of the year. Standing in his way are private landowners in South Texas, one of the areas along the border most prone to illegal crossings. More than 200 miles of the proposed wall construction must take place on private land in the Laredo and Rio Grande Valley sectors of Texas.
Mr. Trump was scheduled to deliver a campaign-style speech to young conservative voters in Phoenix later in the afternoon. But he used the event in Yuma to accuse Democrats in Congress and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., his rival in the presidential election, of being weak on border security. Mr. Trump delivered a campaign-style speech to young conservative voters in Phoenix later in the afternoon. But he used the event in Yuma to accuse Democrats in Congress and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., his rival in the presidential election, of being weak on border security.
“The Biden people — and he’s controlled totally by the radical left, as you understand, he’s not controlling, they’re controlling him — they want open borders, they want criminal sanctuaries, they want everything that doesn’t work,” he said.“The Biden people — and he’s controlled totally by the radical left, as you understand, he’s not controlling, they’re controlling him — they want open borders, they want criminal sanctuaries, they want everything that doesn’t work,” he said.
In a statement before the president’s arrival in Arizona, Mr. Biden called Mr. Trump’s decision to hold a rally in Phoenix “reckless and irresponsible” given recent spikes in the number of coronavirus cases in the state.In a statement before the president’s arrival in Arizona, Mr. Biden called Mr. Trump’s decision to hold a rally in Phoenix “reckless and irresponsible” given recent spikes in the number of coronavirus cases in the state.
The state had 3,591 new cases on Monday, the highest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic.The state had 3,591 new cases on Monday, the highest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic.
“Instead of doing the hard work needed to solve the public health and economic crises facing America, Donald Trump remains focused on his expensive, ineffective and wasteful ‘wall’ on our southern border,” Mr. Biden said. “Make no mistake: This visit is a distraction. It’s a distraction from Donald Trump’s failed response to combat the spread of Covid-19.”“Instead of doing the hard work needed to solve the public health and economic crises facing America, Donald Trump remains focused on his expensive, ineffective and wasteful ‘wall’ on our southern border,” Mr. Biden said. “Make no mistake: This visit is a distraction. It’s a distraction from Donald Trump’s failed response to combat the spread of Covid-19.”
Arizona is a critical state for the president’s re-election prospects at a time when polls suggest his fortunes across the country are dipping in the wake of the economic downturn and his administration’s handling of the coronavirus.Arizona is a critical state for the president’s re-election prospects at a time when polls suggest his fortunes across the country are dipping in the wake of the economic downturn and his administration’s handling of the coronavirus.
The state, with its 11 electoral votes, has been a Republican stronghold in presidential contests since 1996, when Bill Clinton carried the state. But Democrats are hoping that Mr. Biden will finally be able to take Arizona back in the fall.The state, with its 11 electoral votes, has been a Republican stronghold in presidential contests since 1996, when Bill Clinton carried the state. But Democrats are hoping that Mr. Biden will finally be able to take Arizona back in the fall.
That will not be an easy task. Many conservatives in the border state are fiercely supportive of the president’s views on immigration, an issue that has helped elect Republicans in Arizona for the last two decades.
In September 2016, Mr. Trump delivered the most important immigration speech of his campaign at the Phoenix Convention Center, laying out in detail the hard-line approach he would take to shutting down the border, deporting undocumented immigrants and reducing the flow of foreigners trying to come to the United States legally.
But Arizona is roughly split in party registration among Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters. And recent events — including a spike in coronavirus cases and unrest over police brutality — have shaken up the state’s politics.
In 2016, in a sign of the shifting politics in Arizona, voters in Maricopa County defeated Joe Arpaio, the Republican sheriff who had been an outspoken champion of some of the state’s most restrictive anti-immigrant policies. Democrats are betting that they can do the same for Mr. Trump in 2020.
The president is betting that his progress on the wall will help him win the state even as his administration has run into legal and practical hurdles.
The federal government has the power to seize land for the wall by negotiating with the landowners and filing eminent domain lawsuits, but many owners sought to delay the construction beyond the election. The administration had acquired just 10 of the 213 miles it needed as of last month, an increase of seven miles since December, even as the administration filed a flurry of lawsuits against the landowners this year.
Customs and Border Protection officials have contended that they can still meet Mr. Trump’s mandate by building on the projected border wall path already owned by the federal government in Arizona, California and El Paso, Texas. But to accomplish Mr. Trump’s goal, the administration would have to double the rate of construction to nearly 40 miles built per month.
Other barriers to the wall include the Office of Inspector General for the Defense Department, which is reviewing a $400 million contract for a North Dakota company favored by Mr. Trump and allied with Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s former chief strategist.
Ronald D. Vitiello, formerly Mr. Trump’s acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and chief of the Border Patrol, said the border wall alone would not be effective in deterring illegal immigration.
“In itself, it doesn’t do much, but it establishes an anchor, a base, for all the required attributes,” Mr. Vitiello said. “You got to have technology to support it and agents to make arrests when people still attempt to climb it.”
But Peter Vincent, the former highest-ranking lawyer for ICE in the Obama administration, said the construction of the border wall had actually harmed public safety since Mr. Trump had transferred billions of dollars from the Defense Department to secure funding for the project.
“I’ve always said, based on my experience in counterterrorism and anti-narco trafficking, a wall does not in anyway prevent a committed nefarious actor from breaching our southern border by either climbing over it, going around it and digging underneath it,” Mr. Vincent said.