Congressional leaders were meeting on Monday to discuss the border security funding plan and avoid another partial government shutdown in the United States before the Friday deadline, according to Reuters.
The talks were scheduled to resume just before President Donald Trump holds a rally in the Texan city of El Paso to discuss his campaign promise of building a wall along the southern U.S. border with Mexico.
Democrat and former Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke will be holding an anti-wall protest to get the President amid rumors he could be exploring a potential 2020 presidential campaign.
Lawmakers are meeting on Monday to hopefully allow enough time for legislation to move through the House of Representatives and Senate in order to receive Trump's signature by Friday, when funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, and several other government agencies expires.
Officials said the negotiations fell apart over the weekend after Democrats demanded a decrease in funding for immigrant detention center beds and constructing a physical barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Congressional aides said House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, a Democrat, and the panel's top Republican Rep. Kay Granger will meet with the Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, a Republican, and the leading Democrat on the panel Sen. Patrick Leahy.
A senior Democratic aide told NBC News over the weekend Republicans would need to accept "limits" on the Trump administration's immigration policies on the bed count issue.
"A deal that includes new physical barriers must all include limits on the number of ICE detention beds. If Senate Republicans won’t compromise with us on both, we can’t reach a deal," the source said.
The White House Office of Management and Budget previously requested $4.2 billion in funding for $52,000 beds, which is $798 million higher than the current funding levels.
Democrats are suggesting a compromise of capping the detention beds at 16,500.
“A cap on ICE detention beds will force the Trump administration to prioritize deportation for criminals and people who pose real security threats, not law-abiding immigrants who are contributing to our country,” Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), chairwoman of the Homeland Security Appropriations subcommittee said.
Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan, the Democratic Caucus chief deputy whip, said the issue was a "priority" for Democrats.
“The issue that we’ve been raising is the number of beds that are available, forcing the administration to prioritize the use of those beds, which we naturally believe would force them to be used for actual people who may present some risk or danger," Rep. Kildee said.
After listening to ALL the house debate...you try to impeach Trump, you link EVERYONE to Trump that you don’t like,… https://t.co/a1d8LVornd
2021-01-13 21:34:16
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If @RepMoBrooks @repgosar and @andybiggs4az do not resign, Congress must #expel them. https://t.co/z6KlaJc88M
2021-01-13 20:04:58
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#expel,
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2021-01-13 20:02:34
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Trump's previous demand for more than $5.7 billion to erect the border wall led to the longest-ever partial government shutdown which lasted 35 days from late December into January.
Trump agreed to reopen the government to allow congressional negotiators time to uncover a compromise for the two sides on the issue of border security.
Democrats and Republicans would need to agree on a funding plan to avoid another shutdown by February 15 and plan the government budget for the rest of the fiscal year through the end of September.
Trump made the promise of a border wall one of his central campaign promises more than two years ago, promising it would cut illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and other crime; even though Democrats and a number of experts argue the wall would be insufficient to drastically cut those issues.
-WN.com, Maureen Foody