On Friday morning, President Donald Trump declared that he will shut down the Southern border if he does not receive funding for his border wall.

An Overview of President Trump's Declaration

President Trump posted a series of tweets earlier this morning. Those tweets read as follows:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1078625779670503426

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1078632205210058752

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1078634025412116480

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1078638249562775552

Funding for President Trump's Border Wall

At this point in time, President Trump and Democrats are in a heated battle of hardball. Both sides are sticking by their positions. Democratic leaders remain unwilling to provide the $5 billion dollars which the president is demanding. Likewise, Trump is also holding firm and not relenting.

On Friday, December 21, 2018, the government shut down. Neither President Trump nor Democratic leaders are backing down from their positions on the border wall. The president views the wall as a critical component of border security.

By contrast, Democrats have slammed the wall as wasteful and ineffective. Shortly after the government shutdown, leaders Schumer and Pelosi released a statement in which they condemned the president for the "Trump Shutdown."

At this time, the shutdown will likely carry into 2019.

Where do the American People Stand?

Similarly to leaders in Washington, the American people are largely divided as it pertains to perceptions of the border wall. Conservatives and other members of the president's base have rallied behind him for sticking firm to garnering funds for the wall.

However, those who are not in Trump's fan club remain steadfast in their criticism. Like their leaders, Democrats and other leftists maintain that Trump bears responsibility for the government shutdown; they have also denounced his wall as racist and unnecessary.

The Purpose of the Border Wall

In essence, the purpose of the border wall comes down to legal immigration. Many sources have documented the economic and legal plights associated with unlawful entry into the United States. The aforementioned documentation plays a huge role in conservatives' insistence upon upholding the laws of the land. Many Americans on the right-wing have also claimed that Democrats have political reasons for taking very lax positions on illegal immigration.

New updates on the fight for the border wall will follow as additional developments arise.