House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., urged President Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell to “stop holding [the] government hostage and end the shutdown” immediately.
The statement was made in response to Trump’s compromise package on immigration, which was offered Saturday afternoon in a televised White House address.
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In exchange for the $5.7 billion needed for a barrier along the southern border with Mexico, the president offered, among other items, a three-year extension of protections for 700,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.
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“President Trump and Senator McConnell need to open the government today,” Hoyer said in a statement following the White House address.
“The president must stop holding government hostage and end the shutdown so federal employees can get back to work serving the American people. There is no reason for Americans to be shut out of work and without a paycheck while negotiations take place on the best way to secure our borders.”
Hoyer also said Trump was the one who “took away” protections for DACA and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients.
“His proposal today does not provide the permanent solution that DREAMers and TPS recipients deserve,” Hoyer said.
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Hoyer did acknowledge that Trump's proposal included some items that have been proposed by Democrats. Among them: "security items such as advanced technology, infrastructure investments, and humanitarian assistance.”
The Democratic lawmaker called for Senator McConnell “to allow a vote on any of the eight bills that have passed the House to reopen the government.”
“With the government open, we can negotiate an agreement to strengthen border security that both sides can support and that is in the best interests of the American people.”
Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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