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The Latest: Trump offers 'Dreamers' deal for border wall

Trump promoted his plan Saturday as a way to "break the logjam and provide Congress with a path forward to end the government shutdown."
Credit: Getty Images

The Latest on the partial government shutdown (all times local):

9:10 p.m.

President Donald Trump on Saturday has offered to extend temporary protections for young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children and those fleeing disaster zones in exchange for his long-promised border wall. But while Trump cast the Saturday move as a "common-sense compromise," Democrats were quick to dismiss it at a "non-starter."

With polls showing a majority of Americans blaming him and Republicans for the impasse, Trump said from the White House that he was there "to break the logjam and provide Congress with a path forward to end the government shutdown and solve the crisis on the southern border."

Hoping to put pressure on Democrats, the White House billed the announcement as a major step forward. But Trump did not budge on his $5.7 billion demand for the wall and, in essence, offered to temporarily roll-back some of his own hawkish immigration actions — actions that have been blocked by federal courts.

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5:35 p.m.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says President Donald Trump's proposal for ending the 29-day partial federal shutdown is simply "more hostage taking."

The New York Democrat says Trump's plan offers "one-sided and ineffective remedies."

Trump on Saturday proposed granting temporary protections against deportation for many young immigrants and others fleeing violent or disaster-battered countries. In exchange, Trump wants $5.7 billion to construct 230 miles of his proposed Southwest border wall.

Schumer says once Trump signs bills reopening government, negotiations would then be possible.

Schumer says the protections for immigrants that Trump is offering to temporarily revive are legal shields that Trump took away in the first place. He says offering to renew those protections in exchange for wall money is hostage taking.

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4:50 p.m.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he plans Senate action this coming week on President Donald Trump's plan to end the partial government shutdown. But the plan faces an uphill path in the Senate and virtually no chance of survival in the Democratic-controlled House.

The Kentucky Republican calls Trump's proposal a "fair compromise" for ending the standoff.

Trump's plan would protect from deportation hundreds of thousands of young "Dreamer" immigrants in the U.S. illegally, in exchange for $5.7 billion to build 230 miles of border wall.

McConnell says, "Everyone has made their point — now it's time to make a law."

Top Democrats already oppose Trump's plan. It will be difficult for the measure to get 60 votes needed to survive in the Senate, and it seems certain to die in the House.

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4:25 p.m.

President Donald Trump is offering to extend temporary protection for people brought to U.S. illegally as children in a bid to secure border wall funding.

Trump has struggled to find a way out of a four-week partial government shutdown over his demand to construct a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

Trump promoted his plan Saturday as a way to "break the logjam and provide Congress with a path forward to end the government shutdown."

Trump is also offering to extend protections for immigrants who came to the U.S. as a result of war or natural disasters in their home countries.

Trump says Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will bring the proposal for a vote in the Senate this week. But Democrats, who control the House, are already saying they find the president's offer unacceptable.

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3:50 p.m.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump's forthcoming proposal for ending the 29-day partial government shutdown is a "non-starter."

Minutes before Trump was to unveil his plan at the White House, the California Democrat said early reports about the proposal indicated it was insufficient.

Trump wants to trade temporary protections against deportation for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants for money to build his wall. Democrats want the protections to be permanent and want him to reopen government before negotiating on border security.

The California Democrat says Trump's expected offer is "not a good-faith effort" to help the immigrants and could not pass the House.

The White House has billed Trump's plan as an attempt to end the shutdown. But it's drawn nothing but negative reviews from Democrats so far.

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2:55 p.m.

Democrats are disparaging a proposal that's expected to be coming from President Donald Trump that the White House has said is aimed at ending the 29-day partial government shutdown.

Trump is expected to say he'd accept temporarily protecting from deportation hundreds of thousands of young "Dreamer" immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children. In exchange, he wants $5.7 billion to start building a U.S.-Mexico border wall.

The second-ranking Democratic senator, Richard Durbin of Illinois, says Trump's proposal was unacceptable and couldn't pass the Senate, which Republicans control only narrowly.

Durbin and other Democrats want Trump to reopen government before talks can start.

Top Democratic aides are criticizing Trump's offer because it isn't a permanent solution for Dreamers and because it includes money for the wall, which the party strongly opposes.

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11:50 a.m.

President Donald Trump is expected to announce later Saturday that he is open to trading protections for young immigrants in exchange for money for his long-promised border wall.

That's according to three people familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss them by name.

The dispute over Trump's border wall has caused a partial government shutdown now into its fifth week.

Vice President Mike Pence, along with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney have been working "non-stop" on the proposal, according to one of the people.

The proposal would protect immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. It also would extend protections for those with Temporary Protected Status, a program that allows people from certain countries affected by natural disasters or violence to remain in the U.S.

Trump is scheduled to make the announcement from the White House at 4 p.m.

—Associated Press writer Jill Colvin

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1 a.m.

President Donald Trump says he'll be making a "major announcement" on the government shutdown and the southern border on Saturday afternoon as the standstill over his border wall continues into its fifth week.

Democrats are now proposing hundreds of millions of dollars for new immigration judges and improvements to ports of entry from Mexico but nothing for the wall, a House aide said, as the party begins fleshing out its vision of improving border security.

After days of bitter clashes between Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, it was unclear if the twin developments represented serious steps toward resolving the fight. But they were the first tangible signs of movement in a dispute that has caused a partial government shutdown, which Saturday was entering its record 29th day.

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