Trump offers a 'Dreamers' deal for border money funds

WASHINGTON (AP) - 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.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he plans Senate action this coming week on Trump's plan. But it 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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