Did The Democrats Offer Money For The Wall

President Trump speaks about the partial government shutdown, immigration and border security in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House on Saturday. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

toggle caption

Alex Brandon/AP

President Trump speaks about the fractional government shutdown, clearing and border security in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House on Saturday.

Alex Brandon/AP

Updated at 5:28 p.m. ET

With negotiations over reopening the government at a standstill, President Trump offered to back temporary protections for some immigrants brought to the country illegally every bit children, many of whom are now adults, in exchange for funding for a wall on the Southern border.

In a White House speech on Saturday, Trump also offered to extend the Temporary Protected Status program that blocks deportation of certain immigrants fleeing civil unrest or natural disasters.

The proposal had multiple components, including requests for:

$800 million for urgent humanitarian help;
$805 one thousand thousand for drug-detection engineering science to secure ports of entry;
2,750 boosted border agents;
75 new immigration judge teams for a court backlog of nearly 900,000 cases;
Allowing Central American minors to apply for aviary in their dwelling countries;
$5.vii billion for strategic deployment of physical barriers, or a wall, just not, Trump said, a two,000-mile concrete structure. The president said he wants to add 230 miles this year and claimed the crime rate and drug problem "would be apace and greatly reduced" and that "some say it would be cutting in half."

In substitution for:

Three years of legislative relief for some 700,000 recipients of the Obama-era initiative known every bit Deferred Activity for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which protects some immigrants brought to the U.Southward. illegally as children from displacement. The Trump assistants had moved to finish DACA, but the conclusion was challenged in court and is currently held up in legal proceedings. Trump's proposal would give an extension of legal status;
A three-year extension of Temporary Protected Status for some 300,000 facing expiration;

The president said these measures would permit iii more years of certainty to work on a larger immigration deal.

All the same, fifty-fifty before he spoke, the bargain appeared to be dead on arrival with Democratic leaders. They insisted Trump needs to open the regime before beginning whatever negotiations over border security or bulwark funding.

Earlier the speech, Firm Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., responded to initial reports of the president's offer past calling information technology "a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable." She added that Trump's proposal does not "represent a expert faith try to restore certainty to people'southward lives."

Some 800,000 federal workers throughout the state accept either been furloughed or made to piece of work without pay. Workers take now missed one paycheck and will miss some other if the shutdown is not resolved in the next week. Trump has signed legislation to give back pay to federal workers once the government is reopened.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pledged to put Trump's proposal upward for a vote this calendar week.

"Everyone has made their betoken — now it's time to brand a law," McConnell said in a statement soon after the speech. "I intend to move to this legislation this calendar week. With bipartisan cooperation, the Senate can transport a bill to the House quickly and so that they tin can take action besides. The situation for furloughed employees isn't getting any brighter and the crisis at the border isn't improved by show votes. Only the president's plan is a path toward addressing both issues chop-chop."

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., caput of the conservative Business firm Freedom Conclave, praised Trump's move and put the ball in Democrats' court.

This is the latest and most significant stride nevertheless of POTUS showing his willingness to negotiate and compromise with Democrats on the issue of wall funding. At this bespeak, if Democrats refuse to come up to the table, it will show they are non at all serious almost solving this impasse.
— Mark Meadows (@MarkMeadows) January 19, 2019

Just not everyone in the conservative base was happy with Trump'southward proposal. Conservative commentator Ann Coulter called Trump'southward move "amnestying millions of illegals."

100 miles of border wall in exchange for amnestying millions of illegals. So if we grant citizenship to a BILLION foreigners, maybe we tin can finally go a full border wall.
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) January 19, 2019

During this, the longest fractional authorities shutdown in U.S. history, Trump has suffered in the polls, which have found more people arraign the president than congressional Democrats. And that number is on the ascension. An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll also constitute Trump's approving rating downwardly to 39 percent and slipping with his base of operations.

Coming out Saturday and making this spoken communication was an effort by the president to reclaim the narrative and appear conciliatory. Democrats signal the president did not accomplish out to them earlier the speech and don't see what he's doing, as Pelosi noted, as a expert faith effort at compromise.

Trump's offer is based, in part, on bipartisan legislation proposed by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., known as the Bridge Act. The bill would requite three years of protections to the so-chosen "DREAMers" — immigrants who came to the U.Southward. illegally as children. But before Trump's speech, Durbin, a member of the Democratic leadership in the Senate, rejected Trump's utilise of the bill in this fashion and called for the government showtime to be reopened before any negotiations on a border barrier could have identify.

"First, President Trump and Senate Majority Leader McConnell must open the authorities today," said Durbin, the minority whip in the Senate. "Second, I cannot back up the proposed offering as reported and do non believe it tin can pass the Senate. Third, I am fix to sit down downwards at whatever time after the government is opened and work to resolve all outstanding issues."

This is the latest motion past the White House in the midst of its showdown with Democrats, who take aghast at providing the money for construction of a border wall. Democrats contend that Trump's push button for the wall is immoral and that it is an ineffective way to cease illegal crossings.

Trump argues a wall is necessary for national security. He has refused to sign any spending bill without funding for it. Dorsum in December, the president indicated that he would sign temporary funding measures to keep the government open but then faced a backlash in bourgeois media over it. He reversed course, which led to the shutdown.

Until now, the White House had said information technology would be open up to negotiating on the amount of money it volition have for a wall but has been noncommittal about offering other concessions to Democrats.

Almost a year agone, Democrats offered some $25 billion in exchange for a path to citizenship for those almost 700,000 DACA recipients. Democrats say Trump balked at the offer, demanding more after Democrats thought they had a bargain.

Democrats have passed several bills out of the House to fund and reopen agencies that are currently shut down. McConnell has not brought them to the floor of the Senate, deferring instead to the demand for negotiations between Trump and Democrats.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2019/01/19/686876605/trump-offers-temporary-immigrant-protections-for-5-7-billion-in-wall-money

Posted by: martingoostake1947.blogspot.com