EL PASO, Texas—All eyes were on The Sun City on Monday night as President Donald Trump held a rally in which he called on Democrats to support the construction of a wall along the southern border to curb illegal immigration.

“Today we started a big beautiful wall right on the Rio Grande,” Trump informed the audience to raucous applause, setting the tone for his campaign rally.

“My administration is committed to ending illegal immigration while modernizing our legal immigration system which has been in terrible shape for many decades to prioritize the admission of those who can support themselves financially and contribute to our economy,” he pledged.

“We need the wall and it has to be built, it has to be built fast.”

The wall has been a cornerstone of Trump’s campaign since its inception. Since then, Democrats and liberal Republicans have predictably attempted to stonewall progress on the effort, leading to a 35-day government shutdown in December and January.

Though the partial shutdown was temporarily halted last month, the clock is once again running out for Congress. On Friday the government is slated to partially shut down again, if Congressional Democrats remain unwilling to provide any funding for physical border security.

Trump said “progress was being made” on negotiations, but was unsure if a solution would be agreed to by the end of the week.

“We want to stop drugs, we want to stop traffickers, we want to stop criminals. Walls save lives,” said Trump.

“Security should not belong only to the rich and powerful,” he added.

Trump responded to Democrats, who have argued that walls are “immoral”.

“Walls are not immoral,” said Trump. “Human trafficking is immoral. Child smuggling is immoral Sanctuary cities that get Americans killed are immoral.”

“Just a few thousand feet from where we’re standing is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, Juarez. Thanks to a very powerful border wall in El Paso, it is now one of the safest cities,” Trump said.

State Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R–Fredericksburg) echoed Trump’s sentiment ahead of the rally, telling Texas Scorecard he was in attendance to combat the false narrative from liberal news media that walls don’t work, pointing to a recorded decline of criminal activity in El Paso after construction of a physical barrier began in 1993.

“Walls work,” said Biedermann, “and the liberal media won’t tell the truth.”

“Last year, Juarez had 1,200 murders. El Paso had 23,” Trump declared.

Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz both made appearances on the stage ahead of Trump.

Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller were also in attendance.

In his speech, Cruz amplified Trump’s call for a border wall: “When it comes to immigration, we understand something very simple,” Cruz told the crowd. “It’s time to build the wall.”

In addition to border security, Trump touched on a wide variety of topics, including negotiations with North Korea, the liberal “fake news” media, and the successes of his administration.

“The United States is now the number one producer of oil and natural gas. Texas’ oil production is now at the highest level it has ever been,” Trump said to big applause.

Trump also used the opportunity to contrast himself with Democrats, ahead of the 2020 Presidential campaign.

“It sounds like a high school term paper that got a low mark,” Trump joked of the Green New Deal proposed by newly-elected socialist Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D–NY). “They want to take away your car, reduce the value of your home, and spend $100 trillion.”

“Democrats are also pushing extreme late-term abortion, allowing children to be ripped from their mothers womb right up until the moment of birth.”

“The Democrats have become the party of socialism, late term abortion, open borders and crime,” he later added.

“I want people to come into our country, but they have to come in legally and they have to come in with merit.”

Monday’s rally marked Trump’s seventh campaign stop in the Lone Star State.

Brandon Waltens

Brandon serves as the Senior Editor for Texas Scorecard. After managing successful campaigns for top conservative legislators and serving as a Chief of Staff in the Texas Capitol, Brandon moved outside the dome in order to shine a spotlight on conservative victories and establishment corruption in Austin. @bwaltens

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