WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is expected to propose extending protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients and individuals with Temporary Protected Status in exchange for border wall funding in his remarks Saturday afternoon, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN.
The President’s latest offer, which he is set to deliver from the White House Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, will link his demand for $5.7 billion for a border wall to the BRIDGE Act, legislation that would extend protections for so-called “Dreamers,” undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US as children and are covered by the DACA program.
The compromise proposal would also allow immigrants covered by Temporary Protected Status — some of whose protections Trump has rescinded — to remain in the country.
Axios was the first to report this.
The President’s willingness to address DACA in a possible border wall deal is a reversal from his position that the courts should sort it out first.
In 2017, Trump’s administration announced plans to phase out the DACA program and Trump has previously said he would wait to address protections for its recipients after a Supreme Court ruling on the matter.
Democrats have so far refused to provide any funding for the border wall and have insisted that Trump reopen the government before a broader immigration or border security deal can be hashed out.
Trump’s proposal comes as House Democrats are pushing forward with legislation to beef up security at the borders — without funding for the wall — a move bound to intensify the standoff over a partial government shutdown heading into its fifth week.
As part of a package of six spending bills, House Democrats next week will vote on $1 billion for additional border security measures, according to a Democratic source.
The $1 billion would not include money for the border wall, as Democrats are trying to make the case there are other border security measures that are more effective.
The money includes port security measures as well funding for immigration judges who could help with cases of migrants crossing the US-Mexico border seeking asylum, the source told CNN.
The money is roughly split between port security and funding for additional judges.
The proposal is highly unlikely to break the impasse between Democrats and the White House to reopen the government, which is now in its 29th day. Even though the House will vote next week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he won’t hold a vote on a bill that lacks Trump’s support.
The spending package that the Democrats intend to vote on next week will be the six agreements the House and Senate came to in conference.
This package including the $1 billion will be the 10th measure House Democrats vote on in an effort to reopen the government since the new session of Congress began. So far, the House has approved seven of those bills, with a re-vote scheduled for the eighth bill on Tuesday that is expected to pass.
