The American government has been in the longest shutdown ever over President Donald Trump’s demand for a wall worth $5.7 billion.
The Democrats, who are the majority in the Congress, see this wall as a waste of tax payer money and thus the head lock between them and the president since December 22, 2018.
Following this, President Trump proposed on Saturday a deal that might open discussions between him and the Congress. According to the Vox, Trump is open to extending protections for three years for immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and the Temporary Protected Status holders.
“This is a common-sense compromise both parties should embrace,” Trump said.
These two programs are currently under litigation after Trump administration tried to end them in his anti-immigration policy.
But top on this deal by Trump is the insistence of a wall but now he’s open to including other immigration provisions as well.
The deal was rubbished by Democrats as a ‘non-starter’. Speaker Nancy Pelosi had already dismissed the deal before the president’s speech, stating that they were “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“.
Pelosi’s statement also insisted on effective border solutions that includes increased infrastructure investments, advanced technology to detect drugs and contraband as well as more customs personnel and immigration judges.
“Next week, Democrats will pass a package of six bills agreed to by House and Senate negotiators and other legislation to re-open government so that we can fully negotiate on border security proposals.” she added.
Democrats also criticised Trump for the temporary extension of the dreamers program, which they had tried to renegotiate for this time last year. Trump went against this deal and many others they had offered to him.
As the standoff between these two continue, the shutdown continues to affect government workers differently, with most of them set to get the second stub of their pay that reads $0. Some functionalities in the federal government have been severely hit including the Food and Drug Administration, which has suspended non-essential work causing concerns over food safety. The Transportation Security Administration officials have not only been calling in sick, they have also been quitting altogether.
