Watch President Trump's Full Address to the Nation on the Border Crisis
Donald Trump delivers live speech highlighting America's security problems
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President Donald Trump delivered a historic national address from the Oval Office of the White House on Tuesday in which he highlighted the devasting impact illegal immigration has on the United States and declared a "humanitarian crisis" and the country's border.
The president described the ongoing turmoil at the US Southern Border as "a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul" in his first live address to the nation from the Oval Office.
During an emotional speech, Mr. Trump emphasized the thousands of deaths that have come from drugs that flooded into the US over the border with Mexico and Americans who have been murdered at the hands of illegal aliens.
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"Every day, Customs and Border Patrol agents encounter thousands of illegal immigrants trying to enter our country," Trump said.
"We are out of space to hold them and we have no way to promptly return them back home to their country."
"America proudly welcomes millions of lawful immigrants who enrich our society and contribute to our nation," Trump continued.
"But all Americans are hurt by uncontrolled illegal migration.
"It strains public resources and drives down jobs and wages.
"Among those hardest hit are African Americans and Hispanic Americans," Trump explains.
"In the last two years, ICE officers made 266,000 arrests of aliens with criminal records including those charged or convicted of 100,000 assaults, 30,000 sex crimes, and 4,000 violent killings," the president added.
"Over the years, thousands of Americans have been brutally killed by those who illegally entered our country."
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"Our southern border is a pipeline for vast quantities of illegal drugs," Trump noted.
"My administration has presented Congress with a detailed proposal to secure the border and stop the criminal gangs, drug smugglers, and human traffickers.
"It's a tremendous problem."
