Washington: US President Donald Trump today preferred a government shut down in the absence of an immigration deal with the opposition Democrats, which essentially has boiled down to a USD 25 billion Congressional approval for a path to citizenship to 1.8 million “Dreamers”.
The Democrats oppose the funding for Trump’s highly touted wall along the US border with Mexico. Trump has been saying that there can be no deal on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) without the wall.
DACA is an Obama-era policy protecting about 8,00,000 people, who were brought to the US illegally as children or came with their parents, from being deported. It, however, does not provide a path to citizenship. These illegal immigrants are often referred to as “Dreamers”.
“I’d love to see a shut down if we can’t get this stuff taken care of.
If we have to shut it down because the Democrats don’t want safety… Let’s shut it down,” Trump told reporters at a White House event with reporters.
In the absence of an agreement, the Democrats have threatened to vote against a short-term extension of federal spending.
Although the ruling Republican party has a majority in the House and the Senate, it cannot get the short-term spending bill through the Senate as it falls nine votes
short of the 60 of the 100 required for procedural votes leading to the actual vote.
PTI