Currents News Staff
Time is running out – democrats and republicans are scrambling to avoid another government shutdown. And all optimism once surrounding the negotiations has faded.
“I think the talks are stalled right now,” said Sen. Richard Shelby.
The impasse is over two key issues. The first, how many undocumented immigrants can be held in detention centers used by immigration and customs enforcement.
A key democratic negotiator saying that a limit on those held would “force the Trump administration to prioritize arresting and deporting serious criminals, not law-abiding immigrants.”
Republicans calling the cap a non-starter, arguing it would force ICE officials to make impossible decisions about which immigrants to detain.
The second, how much money should go to a border wall or barrier.
Key lawmakers are set to meet Monday afternoon, hoping to revive talks and make new progress, in order to hit the Friday deadline and keep the government open.
The White House is not ruling out another shut down.
“You asked me a question: is the shutdown entirely off the table? I would say no,” said Mick Mulvaney, the Acting White House Chief of Staff.
If no deal is reached, 800 thousand federal workers could find themselves furloughed again, or asked to work without pay.
Meanwhile President Trump is in El Paso, Texas Monday for his first political rally of the year, making his case once against for the border wall.