Pelosi on ‘Obnoxious’ Border Wall: ‘That’s a Community with a Border Running Through It’

The House Minority Leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), is refusing calls for Democrats to trade border security in exchange for getting Deferred Action Against Childhood Arrivals (or DACA) codified into law, even dismissing the idea of the southern border itself.

"In a civilized society, we do something like that?" Pelosi said, referring to securing the border through a wall. "As obnoxious as it is, you know that's a community there with a border running through it."

The comment came after she was asked about Democrats' negotiating position following a federal judge invalidating an earlier deadline on DACA. 

"Should Democrats give border wall funding, for example, right now when there isn't a hard deadline on the table like there was last month?" a reporter asked Pelosi at her weekly press conference Thursday.

"What do you think? I mean should we give a border wall for nothing?" Pelosi responded rhetorically. "No, I don't think so."

"First of all I think the border -- did you see it? How high it is," she continued. "I mean, really? In a civilized society we do something like that? As obnoxious as it is, you know that's a community there with a border running through it."

Pelosi then singled out DREAMers for praise, thanking God for their existence. 

"But let me say this and let me be very clear, if the DREAMers never existed — and thank God that they do, our inspiration, our pride, thank God that they do — if they never existed we still have a problem with what the president wants to do, in the a bill," she said. "You know they want to have enhanced internal enforcement that really goes against the values of our country in my view. So it’s — it’ll be interesting."

Here's a transcript of the exchange:

REPORTER: “Should Democrats give border wall funding for example right now when there isn’t a hard deadline on the table like there was last month?”
PELOSI: “What do you think? I mean should we give a border wall for nothing? No, I don’t think so. First of all I think the border — did you see it? How high it is. And the rest of the [mumbles indecipherably] the wall. I mean really? In a civilized society we do something like that? As obnoxious as it is, you know that’s a community there with a border running through it. OK. Let’s — we have a difference of opinion on that but a wall that big separating people, I mean really? I guess, maybe I’ve seen too many walls, like I saw the wall in Northern Ireland years ago before the agreement and it was strange to see. And that was like a thin fence. This is a big wall. So no, I mean really when — when there was comprehensive immigration reform which was bipartisan in the Senate and protected eleven million people there were serious concessions made in the balance for nothing good we give for the wall — no. I mean what would be our motivation? But let me say this and let me be very clear, if the DREAMers never existed, and thank God that they do, our inspiration, our pride, thank God that they do, if they never existed we still have a problem with what the president wants to do, in the a bill. You know they want to have enhanced internal enforcement that really goes against the values of our country in my view. So it’s — it’ll be interesting. That’s why we want them to come back with a global counter proposal. You know we have said, let’s just do this clean, take out the poison pills and do what the appropriators negotiate in terms of money. There are a few more things to — to be settled but not much. They came back with something that you know still had the poison pills in the rest and hadn’t addressed some of the concerns we had. So we’re waiting for that global proposal. And there’s not much time it’s next Friday.”