Politics

Trump Announces Plan To Fix Border Crisis

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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President Donald Trump outlined his plan Saturday to address border security concerns and put an end to the partial government shutdown. The plan includes the temporary extension of legal protections for DACA recipients and funding for a wall.

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“This is a common-sense compromise that both parties should embrace,” the president began as he introduced the main points of his proposed plan.

  • $800 million in urgent humanitarian assistance
  • $805 million in new drug detection technology
  • 2750 new border agents and law enforcement professionals
  • 75 new immigration judge teams
  • $5.7 billion for “strategic deployment of physical barriers” (a wall)
  • Three years of legal relief and protection from deportation for DACA recipients
  • Three-year extension of protections for immigrants under Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

The president noted that the plan would not be a permanent fix, but rather called it a “down payment” on immigration reform, saying:

Once the government is open, and we have made a down payment on border security, and immigration reform starts to happen, I plan to convene weekly bipartisan meetings at the White House so we can do a finished product, a great product, a product that we can all be proud of, having to do with that elusive immigration problem.

Early reports on Saturday suggested that the president would offer DACA and TPS protections in exchange for his requested funding, and a number of Democrats responded preemptively, saying that they weren’t ready to accept that deal unless Trump first reopened the government with no conditions. (RELATED: Some Democrat Freshmen Want Leadership To Stop Stonewalling Trump On Border Security, Immigration)

The president also announced that he expected his proposed plan to be taken up in the Senate by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sometime in the next week.

“Whatever we do, I can promise you this, I will never forget that my first duty and ultimate loyalty is to you, the American people. Any reforms we make to our immigration system will be designed to improve your lives, make your community safer, and make our nation more prosperous and secure for generations to come,” Trump concluded.

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