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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Dems Refuse Trump Offer to End Shutdown With 3-Year DACA, TPS Deal

The government shutdown continues. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that Trump’s proposed solution to end the ongoing government shutdown by offering a conciliatory three-year protection from deportation for 1 million Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and temporary protected status (TPS) recipients was a “non-starter” that would not pass the House. Congressional Republicans were all in favor of the measure, however, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is poised to introduce it on the Senate floor on Tuesday.

“There is a humanitarian and security crisis on our southern border that requires urgent action,” Trump said in the White House on Saturday.”As a candidate for president, I promised I would fix this crisis, and I intend to keep that promise one way or the other. Our immigration system should be the subject of pride, not a source of shame, as it is all over the world. Our immigration system should be the envy of the world, not a symbol of disunity and dysfunction.”

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1086736152059625473

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denounced the offer before the president made his address.

“Unfortunately, initial reports make clear that his proposal is a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable and in total, do not represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people’s lives,” Pelosi said in a statement. “It is unlikely that any one of these provisions alone would pass the House, and taken together, they are a non-starter. For one thing, this proposal does not include the permanent solution for the Dreamers and TPS recipients that our country needs and supports.”

The partial government shutdown began at midnight on Dec. 22, and affects the paychecks of more than 800,000 federal employees.

SEE: Here’s How the Government Shutdown Affects U.S. Customs and Border Protection
MORE: Here’s How the Government Shutdown Affects the Department of Homeland Security

What The White House Offered

Trump’s $5.7 billion border wall request was included in the proposal, and he said the barrier would not stretch the entire southern border. He also said that while 115 miles of barrier construction is already underway, the allocation would fund an additional 230 miles of barrier construction.

“It will have an unbelievable impact,” Trump said. “Our proposal is not intended to solve all of our immigration challenges.  This plan solves the immediate crisis — and it is a horrible crisis. It is a humanitarian crisis like we rarely see in our country. And it provides humanitarian relief, delivers real border security, and immediately reopens our federal government.”

LOOK: Here’s What President Trump Wants to End the Government Shutdown

The proposal included: 

  • Provisional status for three years for current DACA recipients, covering 700,000 illegal immigrants brought here by their parents at a young age. This would allow them to get work permits, social security numbers and protection from deportation.
  • Provisional status for three years to certain current TPS recipients, covering 300,000 immigrants whose protected status is facing expiration more certainty as Congress works on a larger immigration deal.

Read The Full White House Plan Here 

McConnell commended the president for his “bold” proposal, and said he will introduce the measure in the Senate this week.

“Everyone has made their point—now it’s time to make a law,” McConnell said in a statement. “I intend to move to this legislation this week. With bipartisan cooperation, the Senate can send a bill to the House quickly so that they can take action as well. The situation for furloughed employees isn’t getting any brighter and the crisis at the border isn’t improved by show votes. But the President’s plan is a path toward addressing both issues quickly.”

ICYMI: ‘Just Want It to End’: Federal Workers March on White House with Shutdown Frustrations

Dems Refuse Trump Offer to End Shutdown With 3-Year DACA, TPS Deal Homeland Security Today
James Cullum
Multimedia journalist James Cullum has reported for over a decade to newspapers, magazines and websites in the D.C. metro area. He excels at finding order in chaotic environments, from slave liberations in South Sudan to the halls of the power in Washington, D.C.
James Cullum
James Cullum
Multimedia journalist James Cullum has reported for over a decade to newspapers, magazines and websites in the D.C. metro area. He excels at finding order in chaotic environments, from slave liberations in South Sudan to the halls of the power in Washington, D.C.

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