WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking a shutdown solution, President Donald Trump was expected to announce Saturday that in exchange for money for his promised U. S.-Mexico border wall he was open to trad…
By JILL COLVIN and CATHERINE LUCEY
WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking a shutdown solution, President Donald Trump was expected to announce Saturday that in exchange for money for his promised U. S.-Mexico border wall he was open to trading temporary protections for young people brought to America illegally as children. But it was not clear the offer would trigger a breakthrough, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described the anticipated proposals as a “non-starter.”
Trump planned a speech from the White House Diplomatic Reception Room at 4 p.m. EST. His emerging proposal was confirmed by three people familiar with his thinking. They were not authorized to publicly discuss the plans before his remarks and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump was expected to offer support for bipartisan legislation, known as the Bridge Act, that would extend protection to some 700,000 young immigrants already in an Obama-era program shielding them from deportation, said one of the people. The president also planned to include protections for those with temporary protected status after fleeing countries affected by natural disasters or violence.
Trump, however, is known to change his mind and could decide on another course. His refusal to sign spending bills without the $5.7 billion he is demanding to start constructing the border wall prompted the shutdown.
“We need the help and the backup of a wall,” the president said earlier Saturday. In an apparent attempt to demonstrate that he is not against legal immigration, Trump held a naturalization ceremony in the Oval Office just before his speech.
Pelosi fired back before Trump’s remarks, describing the expected deal as a “a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives.” She said of the proposals, “Taken together, they are a non-starter.”
Democrats are criticizing the expected proposal because it didn’t seem to be a permanent solution for “Dreamers” or TPS recipients and because it includes money for the wall, which the party strongly opposes. Democrats also want Trump to reopen government before talks can start.
Trump’s son-in-law and senior aide, Jared Kushner, has led the work on the proposals, said two of those people, as well as an additional Republican not authorized to speak publicly about the emerging approach.
