Trump addresses the nation, Democrats respond

By Veronica Rocha, Brian Ries, Meg Wagner and Amanda Wills, CNN

Updated 10:32 p.m. ET, January 8, 2019
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9:27 p.m. ET, January 8, 2019

Schumer scolds Trump: "We don’t govern by temper tantrum"

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking moments after President Trump's prime-time address, said the solution for the shutdown is obvious: "Separate the shutdown from the arguments over border security."

"There is bipartisan legislation — supported by Democrats and Republicans — to re-open government while allowing debate over border security to continue. There is no excuse for hurting millions of Americans over a policy difference," he said, speaking alongside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

He went on to say that no president should demand "he gets his way or else the government shuts down."

"We don't govern by temper tantrum," Schumer said.

"No president should pound the table and demand he gets his way or else the government shuts down. Hurting millions of Americans who are treated as leverage."

Pelosi added: “President Trump must stop holding the American people hostage, must stop manufacturing a crisis, and must re-open the government.”

9:31 p.m. ET, January 8, 2019

Trump highlights violence migrants face in transit to US

From CNN's Priscilla Alvarez

Trump acknowledged the violence migrants face in transit to the U.S. during his address when he stated, "One in three women are sexually assaulted on the dangerous trek up through Mexico. Women and children are the biggest victims by far of our broken system. This is the tragic reality of illegal immigration on our southern border." 

Indeed, the trek to the U.S.-Mexico border has been reported to be violent.

According to data from Doctors Without Borders, 68.3 percent of migrants and refugees "entering Mexico reported being victims of violence during their transit toward the United States," and nearly one-third of women said they'd been sexually abused.

But some perspective: This very violence is why women choose to travel in caravans, to achieve safety in numbers. Trump has offered no specifics about how his policies would address the scourge of sexual violence faced by migrants.

The administration has argued in the past that by building the wall, migrants will be deterred from making the journey.

9:21 p.m. ET, January 8, 2019

Trump does not declare national emergency in address

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

President Trump stopped short of declaring a national emergency in a nationally televised address to the nation on Tuesday.

Speaking from the Oval Office, the President cast the border issue as a crisis and railed against crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.

But he did not declare the matter a national emergency, which could have allowed him to fund his promised border wall without congressional approval.

The President has openly weighed taking that step in the past days, and the White House counsel's office continues to assess its legality.

Instead, Trump said he would continue negotiating with Democrats at a Wednesday meeting.

9:27 p.m. ET, January 8, 2019

Trump claimed his new trade agreement will pay for the wall, despite lack of earmarks

From CNN's Katie Lobosco

Trump claimed, "The wall will also be paid for indirectly by the great new trade deal we have made with Mexico."

Even if the United States Mexico Trade Agreement ends up raising tax revenue, there's nothing earmarking that money for a wall. Income and corporate taxes are general revenue that would have to be appropriated by Congress.

Another way trade could bring money into the Treasury is through tariffs -- which are paid by American importers when they buy foreign goods. But like the original North American Free Trade Agreement, the new deal aims to keep trade between the three countries largely tariff-free.

9:35 p.m. ET, January 8, 2019

Trump places onus of shutdown on Democrats

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

President Trump on Tuesday put the onus of an 18-day partial government shutdown on Democrats, saying the matter could be easily resolved if his political opponents cede to his demands on border funding.

"The government remains shut down for one reason and one reason only: the Democrats will not fund border security," Trump said in the Oval Office.

Democrats have expressed support for border security steps like enhanced technology, but have refused to provide support for a border barrier.

Trump said he would resume talks with Democrats on Wednesday.

"This situation could be resolved in a 45 minute meeting," he said. "I have invited congressional leadership to the White House tomorrow to get this done."

9:14 p.m. ET, January 8, 2019

Trump claimed all Americans are hurt by uncontrolled illegal immigration. Experts aren't so sure.

From CNN's Priscilla Alavarez

President Trump said, “All Americans are hurt by uncontrolled illegal immigration.”

It’s very difficult to know exactly how much or little undocumented immigrants cost the United States. Many experts contest the notion that undocumented immigrants are a strain on the economy. A 2017 analysis noted that undocumented immigrants “make considerable tax contributions,” for example.

Similarly, a 2018 study by the libertarian Cato Institute, which reviewed criminal conviction data from the Texas Department of Public Safety, found that immigrants—legal or illegally—are less likely than native-born Americans to be convicted of a crime. Throughout the country, there is also generally a decrease in the number of violent crimes, according to the FBI.

9:06 p.m. ET, January 8, 2019

Trump warns of "crisis of the heart, a crisis of the soul"

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

President Trump opened his first Oval Office address to the nation warning of "a growing humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border," one that most experts say is at odds with facts.

The immigration matter, Trump said, is "a crisis of the heart, a crisis of the soul." 

Speaking from behind the Resolute Desk, Trump said the US could no longer accommodate immigrants who enter the country illegally.

'We are out of space to hold them and we have no way to promptly return them back home to their country," Trump said.

"All Americans are hurt by uncontrolled illegal migration," Trump said "It strains public resources and drives down jobs and wages."

9:04 p.m. ET, January 8, 2019

NOW: Trump delivers prime-time address to the nation

President Trump is speaking from the Oval Office.

Here's his opening line:

My fellow Americans, tonight I'm speaking to you because there is a growing humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border.
8:54 p.m. ET, January 8, 2019

Trump to sell wall as necessary in face of border "crisis" during speech

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

President Donald Trump will declare to an American television audience Tuesday there is a crisis at the US southern border and that a wall is the best and only remedy -- an exceptional step, at odds with facts, to fulfill his central campaign promise.

After weeks of a partial government shutdown, Trump and his negotiators have made little headway in convincing Democrats a barrier is needed before agencies can reopen and federal workers can begin receiving paychecks again.

The administration has steadfastly refused to take steps that would restore funding to some agencies, believing the shutdown is its best leverage to secure the wall funds. Fearing he could lose a messaging battle as more Americans feel the pain of a shuttered government, Trump will escalate his warnings that the country is unsafe without the border wall he promised as a candidate.

In making his case, Trump is turning for the first time to one of the most recognizable symbols of the American presidency -- an eight-minute direct-to-camera evening address from the Oval Office. He will continue his push in the following days, meeting with Republican senators during their weekly lunch on Wednesday. On Thursday he'll pay a visit to the Texas border town of McAllen. Trump, however, will address Americans suffering a credibility lapse after he and his aides have repeated multiple false claims about immigration.

Keep reading.