DETROIT (WXYZ) — President Donald Trump has said he shut the government down to force Congress to fund a wall along our nation’s southern border.
“Without a wall you cannot have border security,” said the president in a recent interview on ABC. “It won’t work.”
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said the president has a hidden agenda.
“Honestly, that large corporate tax break we gave to the rich, we are talking billions of dollars, he is trying to pay for it and he wants to cut medicaid and medicare and all of those things,” she said.
Caught in the crossfire of this political battle are federal workers who are working without pay. That includes workers in the TSA, air traffic control, federal courts, and equal employment opportunity commission, just to provide a few examples.
Several people who say they are impacted spoke at Representative Tlaib’s press conference, including a federal employee.
“The longer I am without a paycheck, the longer I am in jeopardy of not being able to pay my mortgage,” said Hodari Brown, a Redford resident who is also a federal worker.
Shelters funded by the Violence Against Women Act have lost funding during the shut down.
“The impact of trauma is so huge and if we don’t fund this act, I am worried about what is going to happen,” said Jessie Urban, youth and legal program manager for LA VIDA.
LA VIDA provides services to survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
