President Donald Trump insisted during his 2016 campaign that America should increase its border security by building a wall on the border between Mexico and the United States.

In January, Trump tweeted, “We need the Wall for the safety and security of our country. We need the Wall to help stop the massive inflow of drugs from Mexico, now rated the number one most dangerous country in the world.” Trump glorifies the potential border wall, capitalizing it as if it represents something good for our country. In reality, the border wall represents the divisiveness that Trump has promoted during his time in office. Trump has pushed out propaganda encouraging the idea that Mexicans are the cause of America’s crime and drug problems, from peddling drugs to raping American women. From campaign speeches to racist tweets, Trump has made clear that he fears the Mexican people and their influence on the United States.

The President consistently parades the idea that Mexico is a dirty, dangerous country, that Mexicans are inherently dangerous, and that they don’t belong in this country. He continues to conveniently forget the criminals that are citizens of the United States, criminals who look like him. Trump is a hypocrite, and if he truly wanted to protect American citizens from criminal threat, he would do his beloved country a favor and learn how to be an actual president. He would listen to his constituents, and not threaten the financial security of millions of people. He would learn empathy and grant asylum to those who are in need.

How does Trump’s racism and immaturity affect Huntsville? The fact of the matter is that Trump’s plan fell through. After months of aggressively insinuating that Mexico would pay for the border wall, it has become apparent that Mexico’s government is not interested in paying for a wall that will not protect itself from Trump’s discriminatory actions. Now, Trump has to convince Congress to lend him the 5 billion dollars needed to build the wall, and Democrats aren’t budging. Since Democrats will only allow 1.6 billion dollars to be used for the construction of the wall, Trump is throwing a temper tantrum and has threatened to shut down the government.

If a bipartisan solution is not proposed quickly, thousands of employees working in Huntsville may be furloughed.

This includes 96% of NASA employees and TSA officers working at the Huntsville International Airport who may be receiving their last paycheck this upcoming payday until further notice from Congress. The thought that the fate of our economy is in the hands of Donald Trump, the man who consistently makes empty promises and doesn’t care about anybody but himself, is a scary one.

The way our president is handling the border security situation is pathetic. At home, people’s jobs are on the line. Christmas is an especially critical time for many financially, and the lack of payment resulting from this potential government shutdown could be the deciding factor between people’s gifts or traveling methods. Trump should realize that the border wall as he imagines it is not a reality, and that there are real people who are affected by his petty stubbornness.