Congressmen and senators are supposed to be fighting for the American people, their constituents. But when Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer pounced on the president at the Oval Office on Tuesday, for whom exactly were they fighting?

Both the Senate and the House oath of offices are nearly identical. They begin like this: “I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.”

Related: Pelosi and Schumer Used to Care About ‘Our Poorest Citizens’ Before Prioritizing Illegal Immigrants

At this point, are we even sure that Chuck and Nancy took the oath? I have a news flash for the dynamic duo: When migrants illegally cross our borders, whether they come to work or to collect welfare, using false documents, whether they come to deal drugs or join murderous gangs that are already here, this does constitute a foreign enemy action.

That’s why Trump was so clear at the end of that Oval Office exchange on Tuesday. He understands the threat, and he wants to answer it. He told Chuck Schumer to his face that he would be proud to shut down the government over border security. It’s that important for him.

But the Democrats are determined to block Trump’s efforts to fortify the border. You can see them recoil at any border wall talk. Here are the facts. The Democrats are willing to sell out the country, law and order be damned, in order to deny Trump a victory over the wall.

A few years ago, they were all for fortifying the border, but not now. Of course, if we had a media that publicized actual facts on illegal immigration and other immigration issues, rather than obsessing 24/7 about Michael Cohen or focusing on a few really sympathetic people in Tijuana, we would have a lot more Democrats feeling the pressure on this issue from the voters.

A new Gallup world poll found that nearly 160 million people around the world want to emigrate to the United States — 160 million. I bet it’s more than that. Naturally, the U.S. is the top destination for immigrants; 21 percent of them would like to come here permanently. How are we supposed to deal with that kind of demand for access to our shores? Obviously we can’t absorb half of our current population.

Or is that actually what the Democrats want? After all, that would be an entirely new country.

The pragmatic position here is simple. There must be an orderly, legal process, one that protects the interests of the American people first, when it comes to immigration. Most Americans, I really think, have no idea of the true cost of illegal immigration. Again, the media will not report it.

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Let’s look at health care. Even though illegals are forbidden access from federally funded health care, Forbes magazine estimates that 3.9 million uninsured illegals receive about $4.6 billion in health services from the federal government, federal taxes. And $2.8 billion from state and local taxpayers goes to illegal immigrants. And $3 billion from higher payments by insured Americans. In other words, you are paying it because your costs are jacked up.

All told, Americans cross-subsidize health care for unauthorized immigrants to the tune of $18.5 billion a year. Now with that money, we could build a triple wall with all sorts of cool stuff on it along the border. Come on, $18.5 billion?

The president knows well that our loose asylum laws — which is another issue — the catch and release policy, and chain migration, have also acted as magnets and that has ballooned our illegal immigrant population. Once in country, they place an enormous stress on local law enforcement. As I said, health care providers and our schools — resources that should be benefitting Americans and legal immigrants — this money should be spent on our people and the people who have respected our laws to come here and not on noncitizens who are illegally present.

According to government data released Tuesday, in President Trump’s first fiscal year in office, more than 2,304 people were arrested for either employing illegals or working illegally in the country. That’s a 700 percent increase from the previous fiscal year. This is all a direct result of Trump’s authorizing ICE to investigate all crime committed by or with illegal immigrants and not just focusing on the most serious cases.

Now, Democrats are going to say, “Why is the government arresting hardworking immigrants? They are just seeking a better way of life.” Well, this is a simple, twofold answer. One, they are not here legally. Two, and just as important, they are taking jobs that hardworking Americans do not have access to.

We cannot incentivize corporations to use cheap labor, giving them an unfair advantage and destroying other company’s abilities to compete. The crackdown also, by the way, sends a message to the next wave of illegals: You, too, will be deported if you try to come here and work without permission, and of course, collect all those benefits along the way. So, don’t even try.

Now, my friends, this is Christmas time. And although the country is doing better — a lot better — under Trump, many Americans are still hurting, particularly those entering the workforce for the first time, single mothers and people without college degrees, many of whom happen to be black and Hispanic. They don’t have groups, by the way, like Pueblo Sin Fronteras or Centro Sin Fronteras working on their behalf, filing cases on their behalf.

Let’s hope that Trump is successful before Christmas in getting the wall funded. And let’s hope Congress finally gets its act together and remembers the meaning of that oath that they all took.

Of course, the competition from cheap illegal labor harms their chances of employment. Who is going to advocate their cases?

Democrats used to claim that they cared about our poorest citizens, the little guy. But this year, Chuck and Nancy seem more like the Grinch, making promises to the illegals. Sure, give all the goodies to the illegals and leave the poor and the working class to pick up the bill. And by the way, take their tree, without so much as a lump of coal in their stockings.

Let’s hope that Trump is successful before Christmas in getting the wall funded. And let’s hope Congress finally gets its act together and remembers the meaning of that oath that they all took. Otherwise, the Grinch may get his way or her way.

This Fox News opinion piece is used by permission; it’s adapted from Laura Ingraham’s “The Angle” monologue from “The Ingraham Angle” on Dec. 12, 2018. Laura Ingraham is the host of Fox News Channel’s (FNC) “The Ingraham Angle” (weeknights 10 p.m. ET). She joined the network in 2007 as a contributor. 

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