Tlaib "putting human face" to government shutdown in Detroit

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is aiming to put a human face to the government shutdown and show how it impacts us here at home in Michigan. 

The partial government shutdown has entered its third week with hundreds of thousands of workers working without pay or having to stay home without a paycheck. More than 5,000 of those workers live in the state of Michigan, Tlaib said.

"We need action and we need leadership. That's what we're asking from the president," said Hodari Brown.

Brown is a federal employee, a student and a disabled veteran - one of 800,000 federal employees without a paycheck asking the president to end the shutdown.

"We depend on our paycheck to provide shelter, heat ,electricity, water and food. All of those things are now in flux for me," he said.

Tlaib says it's not just federal employees, but people who depend on government services who are suffering...

"The La Vida Partnership in 2017 saw 2,250 survivors of domestic and sexual violence," said Jesse Urban. 

Urban's program is funded by the Violence Against Women Act, which is currently unfunded due to the inability to pass a budget in Washington.

"Without the violence against women act, I'm afraid to see what will happen to our society, our culture, and our families. The impact of trauma is so huge and if we don't refund this act, I'm really worried about what's going to happen," she said.

Attorney Jack Shulz is concerned about his clients, not victims of violence but of employment discrimination. Their cases are now at a standstill.

"The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is furloughed and shut down so they're not taking new discrimination cases. So whether you're a private or a public citizen who faces discrimination, you are unable to rely on that federal agency," he said.

Later tonight, President Trump will argue to the nation that a "crisis" at the U.S.-Mexico border requires the long and invulnerable wall he's demanding before ending the shutdown.

Trump's first Oval Office speech will be followed by a Thursday visit to the southern border to highlight his demand for a barrier. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted that he will "meet with those on the front lines of the national security and humanitarian crisis."

The administration is also at least talking about the idea of declaring a national emergency to allow Trump to move forward on the wall without Congress approving the $5.6 billion he wants. Vice President Mike Pence said again Tuesday that the idea of making such a declaration remains on the table.

The Associated Press contributed to this report