Donald Trump claimed there is a “crisis” at the US border as he delivered an address amid a government shutdown, but stopped short of declaring a national emergency.
In his first TV address to the nation from the Oval Office, he demanded funding for his long-promised US-Mexico border wall to halt the “security crisis”.
But, despite much speculation ahead of the speech on Tuesday night, he did not announce a national emergency to bypass Congress and build the controversial barrier.
In an eight-minute address, which was broadcast live by major US television networks, Mr Trump said: "This is a humanitarian crisis, a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul."
He added: "The federal government remains shut down for one reason and one reason only: because Democrats will not fund border security."
The president called on Democrats to return to the White House to meet with him, saying it was "immoral" for "politicians to do nothing".
Responding in their own televised remarks, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Mr Trump of misrepresenting the situation on the border.
Mr Schumer said Mr Trump "just used the backdrop of the Oval Office to manufacture a crisis, stoke fear and divert attention from the turmoil in his administration".
Mr Trump, who has long railed against illegal immigration at the border, has recently seized on humanitarian concerns to argue there is a broader crisis that can only be solved with a wall along the Mexico border.
But critics say the security risks are overblown and his administration is at least partly to blame for the humanitarian situation.
The US leader had been discussing the idea of declaring a national emergency to allow him to circumvent Congress and move forward with the wall. But he made no mention of such a declaration in the speech
Democrats vowed to block funding for a wall, which they say would be immoral and ineffective, and have called on Mr Trump to reopen shuttered portions of the government while border negotiations continue.
The partial government shutdown has reached its 18th day, making the closure the second-longest in history.
Ms Pelosi noted that the House of Representatives passed legislation to reopen government on the first day of the new Congress. But Mr Trump rejects that legislation because it does not have funding for his border wall.
She said: "The fact is: President Trump must stop holding the American people hostage, must stop manufacturing a crisis, and must reopen the government."
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