FactChecking the Trump-Pelosi-Schumer Scuffle

In a contentious Oval Office meeting, President Donald Trump and the Democratic congressional leaders — Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer — disagreed over funding for a border wall, mangling some facts in the process.

• The president claimed that “a lot of the wall is built,” and he cited statistics purporting to show “it’s very effective” at stopping illegal immigration. But his figures correspond to those in a Customs and Border Protection video on various border security strategies deployed before he took office, from 1992 to 2016. And in most sectors Trump cited as successful, there is very little fencing designed to stop pedestrians.
• In advocating a border wall, Trump claimed that “people with … medical problems are pouring in … in many cases, it’s contagious.” Scientific evidence doesn’t support the idea that migrants pose a public health risk.
• Another reason the president cited was that “drugs are pouring into our country.” But most illegal drugs come across the Southwest border through legal ports of entry, hidden in passenger cars and tractor trailers, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency and Trump’s former Department of Homeland Security secretary, John Kelly.
• Pelosi, the House minority leader, said “people are losing their jobs,” despite the fact that the economy has added jobs for a record 98 months, beginning in October 2010. Her office said she was referring to recent layoffs, such as at General Motors.
• Senate Minority Leader Schumer disagreed with Trump’s statement that the last government shutdown was caused by Schumer. But neutral observers said the three-day partial shutdown was largely due to Senate Democrats’ efforts to protect DACA recipients.
• Trump claimed: “We caught 10 terrorists over the last very short period of time,” but the White House didn’t provide