Reuters: Trump plan to reopen govt., build border wall undercut by Supreme Court

JANUARY 22, 2019 / 11:30 AM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

Richard Cowan
4 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s bid to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall and end a month-long partial government shutdown suffered a blow on Tuesday when the U.S. Supreme Court left in place for now a program protecting young illegal immigrants from deportation.

The border wall, government funding and “Dreamer” immigrants have become intertwined in an epic Washington battle being waged by the Republican president and Democrats in Congress. The Supreme Court ruling deprives Trump of a key bargaining chip.

Amid this battle, an array of government agencies have not been fully operating since Dec. 22 and 800,000 federal employees are not being paid.

On Saturday, Trump proposed ending the government shutdown by fully funding the one-quarter of U.S. agencies that are affected. In return, he would get $5.7 billion toward building a southwestern border wall that Democrats oppose. Trump also is offering to restore temporary protections for Dreamer immigrants who were brought illegally into the United States as minors.

In 2017, Trump moved to end the Dreamers’ protections, triggering a court battle.

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-shutdown/trump-plan-to-reopen-govt-build-border-wall-undercut-by-supreme-court-idUSKCN1PG235