Michael Reagan, son of President Reagan, has urgent warning for Trump concerning the border wall

Michael Reagan, son of former President Ronald Reagan, voiced a dire warning to President Donald Trump Thursday, one day before the government temporarily shut down over a budget battle between Republicans and Democrats.

What did Reagan say?

Despite Democrats' insistence to thwart any and all effort to build a wall on the southern U.S. border, Reagan — who hasn't always been a Trump supporter — urged Trump to not back down from border security.

"Hey @POTUS in 1986 my father made a deal with the Democrats Amnesty for Border Security my father is still waiting.U have no choice its now or never..#BuildTheWallNow," Reagan tweeted.

Hey @POTUS in 1986 my father made a deal with the Democrats Amnesty for Border Security my father is still waiting.U have no choice its now or never..#BuildTheWallNow
— Michael Reagan (@ReaganWorld) December 20, 2018

As the Washington Examiner explains:

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 allowed any illegal immigrants who had been in the U.S. since 1982 to receive temporary legal status and eventually become eligible for green cards if they learned English.

The legislation also attempted to boost border security by increasing funding for the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Border Patrol, although it did not call for a border wall. The measure also sought to crack down on illegal immigration by barring employers from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.

Since 1986, the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. has more than doubled from approximately 5 million to approximately 10.7 million as of 2016, Pew Research Center reports.

What's the background?

One of Trump's central campaign promises was border security and erecting a border wall. However, politics in Washington have proved to be a powerful roadblock to seeing the realization of that promise. So much so, that Trump stated publicly earlier this month that he would be OK with a government shutdown if it meant securing funding for a border wall in future budget legislation.

The impasse led to the government shutting down at midnight Saturday.