On Tuesday, Republican leaders in the U.S Senate urged Donald Trump to support a two-party border security deal. It would provide some money for additional barriers and fencing along the southern border. The move will also prevent another partial government shutdown. Although it hasn’t yet finalized, lawmakers from both parties say the deal will include at least $1.375 billion for 55 miles of new physical barriers consistent with existing structures elsewhere along the border.
Most noteworthy that it would not allow for the construction of a concrete wall, something Trump has recently shied away from to instead advocate for steel slats. Democrats pushed to limit the funds allocated for detention beds. It is an effort to force ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to detain fewer people who are in the country illegally until their court proceedings. To prevent another shutdown, some sort of government funding measure must be passed by Friday at midnight.
GOP Senator Richard Shelby said, “This is a down payment on where the president wants to go and where we want to go with him, and that is to secure the borders of the United States. We made some concessions, but we got some, too. We believe that the caucus will support this, I believe the House will support it, and we hope the president will support it as we release more and more of the details”.
The U.S Senate Majority Leader Republican Mitch McConnell acknowledged neither side got everything they needed but still urged Donald Trump to support it. He refused to entertain the possibility of Trump vetoing the agreement and whether the U.S Congress would then seek to obtain a veto-proof majority. McConnell said, “It’s not everything the president hoped to get, but I think it’s a good step in the right direction. I hope he’ll decide to sign it”.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said, “We settled for a number that has been on the table for two months. This deal was available to take back in December. This job is absolutely maddening. We’re spending all of our time trying to simply avert disaster and maintain the status”.