(AP) -- President Donald Trump says in an Oval Office address that there is a "growing humanitarian and security crisis" at the U.S.-Mexico border, though crossings have fallen in recent years.
The president said Tuesday night that all Americans are hurt by uncontrolled illegal immigration. He says it strains public resources and drives down jobs and wages.
The president says among those hit hardest by illegal immigration are African-Americans and Hispanics, though he did not provide any evidence to back that up.
The president is trying to convince Americans that the flow of immigrants into the U.S. illegally at the southern border is a crisis.
He asserts that the government remains shut down because Democrats won't fund border security.
The White House says President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence will meet with Republican senators at the Capitol on Wednesday as the partial government shutdown continues.
The meeting is taking place as Trump tries to generate public support for border wall money before ending the shutdown. He'll address the nation from the Oval Office on Tuesday night, and has planned a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border two days later.
House Democrats have passed a plan to re-open the government without funding Trump's promised border wall, but the Republican-led Senate has so far declined to take it up.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he won't take up funding bills without Trump's support.
The vice president is increasingly being called upon to prevent GOP defections.
