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21:54 GMT
WASHINGTON, Jan 19 (KUNA) -- President Donald Trump offered what he called a "common sense compromise" on Saturday to push Democrats to create legislation that includes a border wall in the budget and end the partial government shutdown.
His proposal includes three years of legislative relief to the 700,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients who were brought to the US "unlawfully" by their parents.
This would allow these individuals to receive work permits, social security numbers, and protection from deportation.
The president also offered to provide the 300,000 immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and currently face deportation, three more years of "certainty" to remain in the US.
"Our immigration should be the envy of the world, not a symbol of disunity and dysfunction," Trump said from the White House.
"Both sides in Washington must come together, listen to each other...build trust, reach across the aisle, and find solutions."
The president noted that his proposal came from input with border agents and homeland security professionals.
Trump stressed that he "met with Democrats to hear their ideas and suggestions by incorporating the priorities of rank and file Democrats in our plan"
He reiterated his requirement of USD 5.7 billion for the border wall along with USD 800 million in humanitarian assistance, USD 8 million for drug detection technology, 2,750 border agents, and 76 immigration judge teams to tackle the backlog of 900,000 cases.
"The radical left can never control our borders, I will never let it happen," Trump said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would bring a bill to vote this week, the president indicated.
Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi responded by calling the president's proposal a "non-starter."
"Democrats were hopeful that the President was finally willing to re-open government and proceed with a much-need discussion to protect the border. Unfortunately, initial reports make clear that his proposal is 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," she said in a statement.
Pelosi added, "It is unlikely that any one of these provisions alone would pass the House, and taken together, they are a non-starter."
The partial government shutdown is now in its 29th day. (end)
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