Steve King Re-Ups ’06 Border Wall Model Amid Trump’s Immigration Halt

In a show of solidarity with President Donald Trump, Iowa Congressman Steve King is reminding constituents of his long-held belief in a border wall as the president works to stop immigration while the country grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.

King’s newsletter was dedicated this week to praising the president for actions he has taken “to protect American jobs” by “temporarily stemming the flow of foreign nationals into the country.”

Trump said Monday on Twitter he would sign an executive order to that effect.

In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2020

Thursday morning he said the executive order was “Fully signed and ready to go!”

Signed Wednesday night, the order blocks people seeking to come to the U.S. over the next 60 days, not including spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens; health care professionals; military members and their spouses and children; and anyone coming to the country for law enforcement or national security business.

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America’s borders with Mexico and Canada were closed to nonessential travel March 21 and will continue through May 19 to try and limit the spread of COVID-19 in all three countries.

Attached to King’s newsletter was a video clip from July 2006 when he built “a border wall of his own design” on the House floor.

“I also say we need to do a few other things on top of that wall,” King says as he places wire on the model. “One of them be to put a little bit of wire on top here to provide a disincentive for people to climb over the top or put a ladder there. We could also electrify this wire with the kind of current that wouldn’t kill somebody but it would simply be a discouragement for them to be fooling around with it.”

King was in his second term at the time he introduced the country to his border wall model. This year he faces four challengers in the 4th District Republican primary.

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“Nearly 14 years ago I was on the House Floor advocating for America to #BuildTheWall to stop the flow of illegal immigration into this country, and since then I have continued to work to make the Border Wall a reality,” King says in the newsletter. “I will continue to do so until the Border Wall is completed. It is amazing to see how far we have come in this effort in such a short time with President Trump leading the charge in the Oval Office.”

By Elizabeth Meyer
Posted 4/24/20

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