House Dems Face Pressure on Border Security From Constituents

Questions over immigration, border security dog Democrats at district town halls

The government shutdown may be over, but House Democrats are still facing pressure by constituents to address border security.

At town halls over the weekend, voters had their first opportunity to weigh in on the dispute that shuttered the federal government for more than a month. Although the impasse reached a short-term resolution on Friday it was still front and center in voters' minds.

"I don't understand how anybody can think that you can have a compromise and have [a] discussion when Nancy Pelosi stands up there and says, ‘I'll give him $1 for whatever the wall is,'" George Rogero told Democratic congressman Sean Patrick Maloney during a town hall in New York. "So when you talk about compromise, unfortunately, a lot of times a compromise means we get what we want and you don’t get anything."

In response, Maloney said he was open to "real" border security, including physical barriers where necessary, but would oppose a "sea-to-shining-sea" wall across the entirety of the border.

Maloney's colleagues in the House Democratic majority faced similar questions over the weekend. The issue of border security was particularly salient at town halls hosted by freshman Democrats, many of whom represent districts Trump carried on his way to the White House in 2016.

Freshman representative Kendra Horn (Okla.) said she was committed to working "across the aisle" to secure the border and avert another government shutdown when asked about the topic during a town hall on Saturday.

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