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Trump offers temporary relief for Dreamers in exchange for border wall funds

President Donald Trump is offering to extend temporary protection for people brought to U.S. illegally as children in a bid to secure border wall funding.
 
President Donald Trump speak to reporters before leaving the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
President Donald Trump speak to reporters before leaving the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
Published Jan. 19, 2019

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is offering to extend temporary protection for people brought to U.S. illegally as children in a bid to secure border wall funding.

Trump has struggled to find a way out of a four-week partial government shutdown over his demand to construct a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

The president promoted his plan Saturday as a way to "break the logjam and provide Congress with a path forward to end the government shutdown."

Trump is also offering to extend protections for immigrants who came to the U.S. as a result of war or natural disasters in their home countries.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will bring the proposal for a vote in the Senate this week. But Democrats, who control the House, are already saying they find the president's offer unacceptable.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the president's proposal for ending the 29-day partial government shutdown is a "non-starter."Minutes before Trump was to unveil his plan at the White House, the California Democrat said early reports about the proposal indicated it was insufficient.

McConnell says he plans Senate action this coming week on the president's plan to end the partial government shutdown. But the plan faces an uphill path in the Senate and virtually no chance of survival in the Democratic-controlled House.The Kentucky Republican calls Trump's proposal a "fair compromise" for ending the standoff.

McConnell says, "Everyone has made their point — now it's time to make a law."

Top Democrats already oppose Trump's plan. It will be difficult for the measure to get 60 votes needed to survive in the Senate, and it seems certain to die in the House.