Trump to offer deal to end shutdown; Democrats call it inadequate

President Donald Trump is expected to propose an immigration deal on Saturday in a bid to end a 29-day partial government shutdown, a source familiar with his plans told Reuters news agency, but as details emerged Democrats were quick to dismiss it as inadequate.

The president has not budged on his demand for $5.7bn in funding for a US-Mexico border wall, a request Democrats oppose. But Trump is expected to try to pressure Democrats in other areas.

In a speech scheduled for 4pm EST (2100 GMT), Trump will extend support for legislation to protect beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme, which protects undocumented individuals brought to the US as children, as well as holders of temporary protected status (TPS), the source said, confirming a report by Axios.

Vice President Mike Pence, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and a White House aide, helped craft the offer, the source added.

A Democratic aide said Democrats were not consulted on the proposal and have previously rejected similar overtures.

“It’s clearly a non-serious product of negotiations amongst [White House] staff to try to clean up messes the president created in the first place,” the aide said. “He’s holding more people hostage for his wall.”

The source familiar with the speech said Trump does not plan to declare a national emergency along the US-Mexico border, a step he threatened to take earlier in his struggle with Congress over the shutdown triggered by his wall-funding demand.

Declaring an emergency would be an attempt by Trump to circumvent Congress and its power over the federal purse strings to pay for his wall. Such a step would likely prompt a swift legal challenge over constitutional powers from Democrats.

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Saturday said Trump’s proposal was “unacceptable”.

Trump’s plan also does not “represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people’s lives” and is unlikely to pass either the House or Senate, Pelosi, a Democrat, said in a statement. 

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are furloughed or required to work without pay as the shutdown, the longest of its kind in US history, drags on. 

Polls showed Americans increasingly blaming Trump for the shutdown. 

Bridge, not a dream

Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn on Saturday that he has no personal feud with House of Representatives Speaker Pelosi, the top US Democrat.

She and other Democrats oppose Trump’s demand and the wall, calling it too expensive, ineffective and immoral.

“Whether it’s personal or not, it’s not personal for me,” Trump said, adding he was concerned about more immigrants moving north through Mexico towards the US border.

“I’m disappointed that Mexico is not stopping them,” he said. “If we had a wall, we wouldn’t have a problem.”

DACA provides about 700,000 immigrants with work permits, but no path to citizenship.

Former Democratic President Barack Obama put DACA in place in 2012 through an executive order. The Trump administration announced in September 2017 it would rescind DACA, but the policy remains in effect under a court order.

Axios reported that Trump would throw his support behind the BRIDGE Act, which would provide three years of temporary legal status and work authorisation for the Dreamers. The act was first proposed in 2016 by Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican close to Trump, and Democratic Senator Dick Durbin.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is given to nationals from designated countries affected by armed conflict, natural disaster, or other strife. TPS holders are permitted to work and live in the United States for limited times.

The Trump administration has shown a deep scepticism towards the TPS programme and has moved to revoke the special status for immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras and other nations.

SOURCE:
Reuters news agency