WASHINGTON — The White House is defending a tough new ad by President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign that says Democrats will be “complicit” in any killings committed by immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

The 30-second spot was released on Saturday’s anniversary of Trump’s inauguration and amid the government shutdown. Democrats are refusing to fund the government unless Republicans agree to protect some 700,000 immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. The ad highlights the Republican president’s pledge to build a border wall and tighten border security.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says national security is Trump’s top priority as president.

Sanders told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday that “it’s absolutely appropriate for the commander in chief to do everything he can to make sure he’s protecting our citizens.”

What exactly this shutdown means, agency by agency