The wall that President Donald Trump promised to build along the border with Mexico became the biggest sticking point in the negotiations with Congress to prevent a government shutdown. Both sides were working hard to reach an agreement before the White House meeting aimed at narrowing the differences on immigration between Trump and the lawmakers, The Hill reports.
The newest fight comes as the Congress has less than 10 days to clinch a deal to fund the government and address a laundry list of other issues. The president is doubling down on the border wall as a condition for any deal to help people enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
According to Trump, the wall is desperately needed. A few days ago, he said that the U.S. had to get rid of the lottery system, of the chain migration, and had to have a wall. The president plans to visit the prototypes of the border wall in San Diego. The White House asked for 18 billion dollars from Congress to build and repair about 700 miles of border structures.
The senators working on a bipartisan DACA deal received a list of Trump’s immigration priorities. The Department of Homeland Security sent the list, with the wall as the top priority on it. Yet, Democrats oppose Trump’s wishes. They do not want to allow new funding for a border wall and say that Trump’s insistence on it increases the chances of a government shutdown.
Democrats were more willing to accept increased funding for border security. That could mean more technology and repairs to existing infrastructure. The Democrats accepted these provisions as part of the last year’s omnibus spending bill Trump signed in May.
At the same time, Republicans blame the Democrats of playing politics on immigration because of their opposition to the president. The Republican National Committee said Democrats are “terrified of upsetting their militantly-liberal base and AWOL on the very policies they supported just a few years ago.
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