Conservative writer Max Boot says there is no crisis at the border

Conservative columnist Max Boot on Thursday pushed back on President Trump’s claim that there was a crisis at the U.S. southern border, saying illegal immigration has declined. 

“There is not a crisis at our southern border,” Boot, a frequent Trump critic, told Hill.TV’s Buck Sexton and Krystal Ball on “Rising.” 

“Illegal immigration is down 80 percent from the year 2000. It is much lower than it was then, and we do not have a crisis. We should certainly have border security, nobody argues for open borders. That’s a myth that Donald Trump puts out there,” he continued. 

“I think what we need to have is a path to legalization for the 12 to 13 million illegal immigrants already in this country because nobody is going to remove them including Donald Trump,” he said. 

The president has warned about what he has called a crisis at the southern border, pointing to the so-called migrant caravan from Central America which made its way to the U.S. border this past fall. 

Many saw Trump’s rhetoric on the caravan as a way for Trump to rally the Republican base ahead of the midterms. 

However, Trump faces backlash from conservatives for pulling back on a threat to shut down the government if he did not get $5 billion for the U.S.-Mexico border wall, which he has campaigned for since the start of the 2016 campaign. 

— Julia Manchester