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Democrats withdraw offer to fund Trump’s border wall

This article is more than 12 months old

WASHINGTON: Democrats said yesterday that they had withdrawn an offer to fund US President Donald Trump's border wall, as tough negotiations over the future of young illegal immigrants known as Dreamers resumed in the Senate.

A day after the end of a government shutdown linked to wrangling over immigration, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said he pulled the offer because of what he said was Mr Trump's failure to follow through on the outlines of an agreement the two men had discussed last Friday.

TRUMP'S TWEET

Mr Trump responded, tweeting: "Cryin' Chuck Schumer fully understands, especially after his humiliating defeat, that if there is no Wall, there is no Daca (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). We must have safety and security, together with a strong military, for our great people!"

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus expressed fears yesterday that Republicans in the House of Representatives would pursue a harsh immigration Bill written by Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte.

The House measure would allow Dreamers to renew their legal status for three years, instead of putting them on a pathway to citizenship, and would call for hiring 10,000 more agents at US borders while shutting down some visa programmes and taking other steps to find people who are in the country illegally.

Mr Trump, a Republican, had said during the 2016 election campaign that Mexico would pay the cost of building a wall along the south-western border of the United States to keep out illegal immigrants. Mexico has rejected the idea. - REUTERS

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