Trump's Shutdown is affecting national defense AGAINST illegal immigration

The E-Verify system is currently kaput until the shutdown is over. So employers can't use it to try and verify if someone is in the country legally. Which means either they will freeze all hires (thanks, Donald!) or hire people without that verification (thanks, Donald!).

Oh, and all those brave border patrol and other DHS public servants? They're still working … without a paycheck. (Thanks, Donald!)

Oh, and the immigration court system is pretty much shuttered at the moment, meaning no further movement on adjudicating the hundreds of thousands of immigration cases (or of letting folk know when their day in court really will be). (Thanks, Donald!)

That leaves aside the suffering of all other federal employees who aren't getting a paycheck. Or small businesses who can't get their loan applications processed with the SBA. Or safety checks and new drug and medical device applications that are now on hold at the shuttered FDA. Or how that vacation to a national park, national monument, or, heck, the nation's capital, will be a lot less interesting with "closed" signs, unemptied trash, and shuttered (or, worse, unshuttered) bathrooms. (Thanks, Donald!)

Meanwhile, senior GOP figures are saying the shutdown could last for months. [1] That's because

(a) Donald doesn't care if people are suffering or if the government (and nation) are damaged because those aren't something he's concerned about [2], and

(b) Donald is more scared of looking weak, or not winning reelection in 2020, than about the effects of his shutdown, or even his beloved Wall. [3] Indeed, Donald seemed willing to compromise or avoid his shutdown … until he started catching flak from the zany pundit wing of the GOP (Coulter and Limbaugh among them).

And meanwhile beyond that, we have GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying, "Welp, we can't do anything, even vote on a bill we just passed a few weeks back, because the President will veto it."

Hey, Mitch — there's a way to deal with a president who won't sign legislation you've passed … but only if you care more about the legislation than in supporting the President.

"But Dave," you say, "it's all the Dems fault because they won't give the President what he demands." Um … well, that's called resisting blackmail. Especially since there's no national border security crisis that a hypothetical wall would do anything to resolve. The only crisis here is the gun Donald is holding up to the body politic and the nation. For the Dems to give in would be to simply create the moral hazard of encouraging such behavior from Donald in the future.

Assuming there is a nation (or civilization) fifty years from now, I dearly hope that this Republican Party, and this President, are clearly seen for the awful, unpatriotic, destructive things they are.

——
[1] https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/423725-key-gop-senator-shutdown-could-last-for-the-long-haul
[2] http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/01/trumps-leverage-government-shutdown-border-wall-pelosi-meeting-nihilism.html
[3] https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-border-wall-presidency-over-linsey-graham-hannity-fox-news-1277878

‘An Irony’: Shutdown Fight Over Border Security Takes Toll On Immigration Enforcement
The president has demanded billions for a border wall, but the ensuing standoff is taking a growing toll on immigration enforcement, including the online database that lets employers screen workers.

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