Trump offers temporary relief for Dreamers in exchange for border wall funding
Trump offers temporary relief for Dreamers in exchange for border wall funding
By Eileen AJ Connelly
January 19, 2019 | 4:33pm | Updated
President Trump sought to school Democrats in the “Art of the Deal” Saturday with a proposal to reopen the federal government—by offering protection for 1 million immigrants in exchange for a $5.7 billion border wall.
But 29 days into the longest government shutdown in history, Dems rejected Trump’s plan before he even uttered it.
During a 15-minute speech from the White House, Trump said he would protect about 700,000 immigrants known as “Dreamers” for another three years. That group came to the US as kids and has proved to be a flashpoint in the debate on immigration.
Trump also offered a three-year extension for another 300,000 immigrants living in the US under Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which is granted to victims of natural disasters and political turmoil in their home countries.
“I’m here today to break the logjam and provide Congress with a path forward to end the government shutdown and solve the crisis on the southern border,” Trump said.
He repeated his call for $5.7 billion to build the wall, his main point of contention with congressional Dems who have rejected the request to date.
Trump also outlined a long list of measures to secure the border, including:
$805 million for drug detection technology
$800 million for “urgent humanitarian assistance”
$782 million for new border agents and other law enforcement
$563 million for the immigration court system, including 75 new judge teams.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he will bring the proposed legislation to the floor for a vote this week—potentially putting moderate Senate Democrats in a difficult position.
“Unlike the bills that have come from the House over the past few weeks, this proposal could actually resolve this impasse” and “quickly reopen the government,” McConnell said in a statement.
Trump’s proposal reportedly grew out of talks with the senator. McConnell had argued the offer would put pressure on House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) after weeks in which she refused to consider wall funding.
Pelosi was quick to reject the offer.
“It is unlikely that any one of these provisions alone would pass the House, and taken together, they are a non-starter,” she said in a statement her office released as details of the plan leaked—and before Trump went on TV.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) stated, “Offering some protections back in exchange for the wall is not a compromise but more hostage taking.”
While Pelosi called for several items that are part of Trump’s plan—including technology upgrades to screen for drugs, weapons and other contraband and more immigration judges—she did not offer a clear alternative to the president’s proposed deal. She insisted that Trump allow the government to reopen before any discussions on border protection proceed.
Observers said automatic rejection is the wrong move for Dems.
“For the last month we’ve been having a three-word negotiation—‘wall/no wall,’” said Jason Grumet, president of the Washington, DC-based Bipartisan Policy Center. “With this proposal, Trump expanded the conversation.”
“There is some combination of border security, Dreamer protection and protection for those here under TPS that will result in a fair, symmetrical bipartisan agreement,” he added. “The president has not found that combination, but it would be… a mistake for Democrats to not seize the opportunity to come back with a program that they could support.”
Jeanne Zaino, a politcal analyst and professor at Iona College said while polls show the president’s approval rating has dropped since the shutdown began, public opinion could change quickly if Democrats refuse to negotiate.
“They are going to find themselves looking like they are unwilling to compromise,” she said.
https://nypost.com/2019/01/19/trump-...-wall-funding/