James Clyburn: No border-security negotiations until Donald Trump ends government shutdown

Reported by Washington Times:

House Majority Whip James Clyburn said Sunday there would be no negotiations on border security until President Trump agrees to end the partial federal shutdown.

“I can’t see us keeping federal employees, 800,000 people, out of work while we go back and forth on negotiations,” Mr. Clyburn said on “Fox News Sunday.” “These negotiations can take 3 or 4 weeks. We ought to open the government up.”

The South Carolina Democrat also said that he was open to the idea of a “barrier” or “smart wall” along the southern border, adding that a compromise on the four-week impasse could be closer than it seems.

“We can pass a continuing resolution for 30 days, get the government open, get people back to work, and then let’s sit around the table and see where the common ground is,” Mr. Clyburn said. “It may be as simple as taking the ‘temporary’ off the ‘temporary protective status’ fixes.”

.@WhipClyburn tells Chris there will be no negotiations, no compromise until the President agrees to reopen the government: pic.twitter.com/dl9vTuARLY

— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) January 20, 2019

Democrats leaders promptly rejected Mr. Trump’s proposed compromise announced Saturday for a three-year protection of about 700,000 immigrants who arrived illegally as children in exchange for $5.7 billion for the border wall or barrier.

In addition to the extension for those receiving Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals [DACA], Mr. Trump offered to extend protection to the 300,000 immigrants in the Temporary Protected Status [TPS] program.

“And let’s go back and forth on this and see where we can find common ground,” Mr. Clyburn said. “We are all for negotiating and we would love to have a permanent fix for DACA and TPS, just as he wants a permanent wall. I think it’s a nonstarter for him to ask for a permanent wall and for us to have a temporary fix.”

Source:Washington Times