emergency if talks with democrats to end the government shutdown are at a standstill. >> if this doesn't work out, probably i will do it. i would almost say definitely. this is a national emergency. >> such a declaration would be subject to an immediate court challenge and even trump's advisers have told him it probably wouldn't work, legally that is. but there are not many other paths on ultimate of a shutdown that at midnight becomes the longest in modern american history. jim acosta traveled with the president to the border and filed this report. >> reporter: president trump came down to the border here in mcallen to get a sense of the situation down here, talked with law enforcement officials and other border patrol agents. at one point he described the situation as being under attack. it was an odd case to make because he was sitting in one of the safest communities in the country, mcallen consistently