Trump Border Wall: Democrats and Republicans Reach Agreement to Avoid New Shutdown
Republicans and Democrats have reached an agreement in principle over border security to fund the government and avoid another partial shutdown.
The deal was struck in a closed-door meeting in Washington on February 11 after several hours of talks.
However, the agreement contains only a fraction of the money President Donald Trump wants for his promised border wall and does not mention a concrete barrier.
The deal still needs to be approved by Congress and signed by the president.
Speaking on February 12, President Trump said of the deal: “I can’t say I’m happy, I can’t say I’m thrilled.”
The president told reporters he would have a meeting about the agreement later today.
The Democrats – who now control the House of Representatives – have refused to approve the $5.7 billion for President Trump’s wall on the border with Mexico, one of his key campaign pledges.
Lawmakers expressed optimism that a bill would be approved by February 15 when funding runs out for some federal agencies.
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The longest shutdown in US history lasted 35 days and cost the country’s economy an estimated $11 billion.
Details have yet to be released but aides familiar with the negotiations say it includes $1.375 billion in funding for 55 miles of new fencing at the border, a small part of the more than 2,000 miles promised by President Trump.
The wall would be built in the Rio Grande Valley, in Texas, using existing designs, such as metal slats, instead of the concrete wall that Donald Trump had demanded.
According to recent reports, there was also an agreement to reduce the number of beds in detention centers to 40,250 from the current 49,057.
The talks had reached an impasse earlier with Republicans strongly rejecting Democrats’ demands for a limit to the number of undocumented migrants already in the US who could be detained by immigration authorities.
Republican Senator Richard Shelby said on February 11: “We got an agreement on all of it.
“Our staffs are going to be working feverishly to put all the particulars together. We believe that if this becomes law, it’ll keep open the government.”
However, by yesterday, some of President Trump’s conservative allies had already denounced the deal, with Fox News commentator Sean Hannity calling it a “garbage compromise”.
House Freedom Caucus leader Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina said the agreement failed “to address the critical priorities outlined by Border Patrol Chiefs”.