"I don’t care what the political ramifications are, our immigration laws and border security have been a complete and total disaster for decades, and there is no way that the Democrats will allow it to be fixed without a Government Shutdown," Trump said in a Twitter message.
As the president noted, the government shutdown was "a very small price to pay for a safe and Prosperous America!"
READ MORE: Trump Wants Maximum Border Security Over Mexico's Murder Rate
At a press conference on Monday and in a Twitter message on Sunday, Trump also said he would have no problem shutting down the government in order to get a deal on border security and stressed that he wanted money for a wall, as well the elimination of the visa lottery program, catch and release and chain migration.
Earlier on Tuesday, media reports suggested Trump had backed off his call for a shutdown, and Congressional lawmakers said they did not believe a shutdown would happen before the midterm elections in November.