Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told President Trump that he's not invited to deliver the State of the Union to Congress until the government reopens. Our national leaders are bickering over the border wall. Unfortunately real people are caught in the crossfire of this debate that's resulted in the longest government shutdown in history. If you're a government employee depending on a paycheck to provide for your family, you're undoubtedly angry. However, if you work in law enforcement on the southern border or are a resident who's experienced the effects of illegal immigration, you might be in favor of the shutdown. The conversations are getting heated, but one thing missing is empathy toward those affected. But those opposed to the wall fail to see that our nation must be secure.