President Donald Trump argued that an immigration “crisis” requires his long-promised and controversial border wall on the Mexico border.
The US leader made his case in a prime-time address as he tried to make good on a campaign promise that sparked an 18-day government shutdown.
Mr Trump’s speech on Tuesday night was the Republican president’s latest attempt to persuade Democrats to back his push for a steel barrier on the country’s southern border.
It was believed he would use the address to declare the border issue as a national emergency, but he stopped short of doing so.
This could have enabled him to bypass a Congress mandate to grant federal spending and to build the controversial wall without its approval.
Here we brought you live updates as the president made his case from the Oval Office...
