Inside Story

Is the US facing an immigration crisis?

President Donald Trump made a televised address on Tuesday on the issue of the proposed border wall.

United States President Donald Trump is refusing to give up his signature campaign promise of building a wall along the country’s border with Mexico.

But Democrats won’t give him the more than $5bn he wants to build it.

The stalemate has led to the second-longest partial US government shutdown in history.

In response, Trump went on prime-time television on Tuesday to argue that the barrier is needed to stop what he calls a growing humanitarian and security crisis.

We ask, is there a crisis at the US-Mexico border?

Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault

Guests:

Sahar Aziz – founding director of the Center for Security, Race and Rights, professor of law at Rutgers University

David Ward – director of the National Association of Former US Border Patrol Agents

Lincoln Mitchell – political analyst and Professor at Columbia University