WASHINGTON DC- President Trump delivered an address Saturday to offer his proposed fix to the government shutdown. Trump proposed extending DACA protection in order for full border wall funding. Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized the proposal and indicated it would not pass the House in a statement on Twitter.
In his address, Trump presented the situation near the border as a crisis. To address the issues, Trump asked for the following:
-$800 million for humanitarian aid
-$805 million for drug detection at ports of entry
-Over 2,750 new border agents
-75 new immigration judges
-$5.7 billion for a “strategic deployment of physical barriers.”
In turn, Trump offered Democrats three years of legislative protection for DACA participants, which would temporarily allow them to acquire work visas and prevent deportation. He would also extend the same protection for 300,000 immigrants currently with a temporary protected status.
After his speech, Trump left without taking questions from reporters.
Pelosi said the deal was only a compilation of “previously rejected initiatives” which “do not represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people’s lives.” In her statement she laid out the Democrat’s solutions for border security. This plan included increased infrastructure, drug detection technology, more customs personnel, and more immigration judges. Pelosi and other Democrats are urging Trump to sign their bill to reopen the government, which includes $1 billion for border security but nothing for the wall.
It appears the shutdown will carry on for the near future.
