WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced a proposal for Democrats in a televised speech Saturday afternoon to end the the 29-day partial government shutdown.
In his speech, he said he wants to trade temporary protections against deportation for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants for money to build his wall.
His plan included $800 million in humanitarian assistance as well as $805 million for drug-detection technology. The proposal would also add 2,750 border agents and law enforcement officials.
The proposal included $5.7 billion for the deployment of a physical barrier or wall. That wall, he said, would not be a 2,000-mile concrete structure, but steel in high priority areas.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described Trump’s proposal as a “nonstarter” moments before the announcement.
Speaker Pelosi: “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."
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) January 19, 2019
Democrats want the protections to be permanent and want him to reopen government before negotiating on border security.
The shutdown began Dec. 22, 2018 over a stalemate between Trump and congressional leaders over his demand for more than $5 billion to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
This is a developing story. Check back for details.
Cox Media Group
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