Trump threatens to 'shut down' government unless Democrats agree to fund Mexico wall

‘Please understand, there are consequences when people cross our Border illegally’

Donald Trump has threatened to “shut down” the government unless Congress passes legislation that would fund his proposed wall across the US border with Mexico.

In an early morning tweet, he demanded a raft of changes to the country’s immigration laws, adding he wanted “great people” coming into the country.

“I would be willing to ‘shut down’ government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall!” he wrote. “Must get rid of Lottery, Catch & Release etc. and finally go to system of Immigration based on MERIT! We need great people coming into our Country!”

Mr Trump earlier tweeted there were “consequences” when people cross “our border” illegally, “whether they have children or not”.

“Many are just using children for their own sinister purposes,” he continued. “Congress must act on fixing the DUMBEST & WORST immigration laws anywhere in the world! Vote ‘R’.”

The US president’s defence of his immigration policies comes amid a failure by his government to fulfil a court order to reunify undocumented children with their parents.

The Trump administration triggered global outrage when it begun separating families at America’s southern border as a supposed deterrent to illegal migration.

Mr Trump also tweeted a quote by former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director, Tom Homan, who praised the billionaire as having done “more” for border security that previous presidents.

The 72-year-old leader’s threat echoes events from earlier this year, when a bill to fund the federal budget failed over an argument about protections for undocumented migrants.

It triggered a temporary government shutdown, which was only resolved after Mr Trump reluctantly signed a massive spending bill that failed to fund his promised border wall.

The president has long railed against America’s diversity immigration lottery programme and the practice of “catch and release” at its borders.

The visa lottery scheme makes available 55,000 immigrant visas, known as green cards, every year for people from countries with low rates of migration to the US.

“Catch and release”, a term used by conservatives who want to restrict immigration, describes a policy which allows people who entered the US illegally to live in the US ahead of their court date.

On Sunday morning, Mr Trump also repeated the false claim that he has the “highest poll numbers in the history of the Republican Party”.

“That includes Honest Abe Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. There must be something wrong, please recheck that poll!” he tweeted.

According to a Gallup poll, Mr Trump was viewed favourably by 88 per cent of Republicans, a number only Gerald Ford has failed to reach among Republican presidents in recent history.