President Donald Trump is preparing to make an “important announcement” on Saturday afternoon on the government shutdown and the border with Mexico.
Democrats are now proposing hundreds of millions of dollars for the appointment of new immigration judges and improvements to the ports of entry from Mexico, but nothing for the wall, said a House of Representatives adviser, as the party begins to develop its vision on improving security at the border.
Democrats propose $ 563 million to hire 75 more immigration judges, since the current ones face major delays in processing cases, and $ 524 million to improve the ports of entry in Calexico, California, and San Luis, Arizona, said the adviser to the Democrats in the chamber. The money will be added to spending bills, negotiated largely between the House of Representatives and the Senate, which the lower house plans to vote next week.
After days of bitter confrontations between Trump and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, it was not clear if the two events represented serious steps toward resolving the nasty partisan bickering or if they are simply negotiating positions. However, they were the first tangible signs of movement in a dispute that has caused a partial closure of the government, which on Saturday entered its 29th day, a record.
Trump’s refusal to sign spending bills that lack the 5.7 billion dollars that he wants to start to build the wall in the southern border, which the Democrats oppose, has caused the partial government shutdown.
At the moment, the White House did not give details about what the president would announce, but Trump is not expected to sign a declaration of national emergency that has been threatening as an option to bypass Congress, according to two people familiar with the planning.
The President will be speaking from the Diplomatic Room at 3 p.m. today.
