Another Trump Big Lie

“There is indeed an emergency on our southern border,” Trump said, adding that there has been a sharp uptick in illegal crossings. “It’s a colossal surge, and it’s overwhelming our immigration system. We can’t take you anymore. Our country is full.”

He also denied the claims of people seeking asylum at the border, declaring without evidence, “It’s a scam, it’s a hoax.”

Trump's ignorance knows no bounds. When complaining about the legal settlement that governs treatment of migrant children and families, he blamed “Judge Flores, whoever you may be.” But Flores was an unaccompanied 15-year-old girl from El Salvador who was strip-searched in custody and housed with men.

Earlier, Trump's contempt for the American legal system was shown when he stated, "And frankly, we should get rid of judges. You can't have a court case every time sets their foot on our ground."

Is America full? Only in the crazy fantasy-land which is Trump's brain. From sea to shining sea, there is plenty space still

New York City, which is far and away the most populous city in the U.S., was home to an estimated 8.5 million people in 2016. More people live in this one city than in the entire states of Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, New Mexico, Vermont, and the District of Columbia combined. For sure, New York City is rather densely populated, but it is certainly not an uncomfortable place to live in terms of space. Besides, many cities in other countries are far more densely populated.

New York City consists of five boroughs spanning five counties, the most densely populated of which is New York County. This county, which consists principally of the island of Manhattan, is far and away the most densely populated county in the U.S., housing 72,000 people per square mile. At that population density, the entire population of the United States could reside in the tiny State of Connecticut. Brooklyn has slightly less than half the population density of Manhattan. The top four most densely populated counties in America are all in New York City. If all Americans lived at the same population density as the average population density of all five of New York City’s boroughs (approximately 28,000 people per square mile), we’d all fit comfortably in the combined area of Delaware and Maryland.

Over 10.1 million people call Los Angeles County home. But if you know Los Angeles County, or are familiar with any of the counties listed above, you also know that life at this population density is quite comfortable, with plenty of parks, open spaces, and many acre sized residential properties. At a similar population density of Los Angeles County, the entire U.S. population could fit inside the state of New Mexico. Certainly in practice we would still need to figure in access to adequate water resources and would need much more land area to account for agricultural purposes, public services, transportation and, of course, sustainability and conservation. However, this is merely a thought experiment to demonstrate that if America has enough elbow room to fit our entire population comfortably into an area the size of New Mexico, we probably have enough room for many more people as well and unlike Trump's claim. America is not going to be running out of room any time soon.