Trump offers a "compromise" to end the shutdown

US President Donald Trump has set new plans for his Mexican Wall Project to end a partial government shutdown lasting more than four weeks.

One of his "compromises" involved the so-called Dreamers – who entered the United States illegally when they were young. He still wants $ 5.7 billion (£ 4.5 billion) to finance the wall.

The Democrats refused to fund it and had already rejected the concessions expected before the speech.

The closure, the longest in history, affected 800,000 federal workers.

What was there in Mr. Trump's address?

The President began by saying that the United States was proud to welcome migrants, but that the system was "severely broken for a very long time".

He said that he was "here to break the deadlock and give Congress a way to move forward to end the government's closure."

He explained again why he had built the wall and pointed out that it was not a continuous structure, but simply a steel barrier in high priority areas. . But the request for $ 5.7 billion to finance it remains.

The two new ideas were for Dreamer and Temporary Protection (TPS) holders.

There are about 700,000 dreamers, who were young when they entered the United States illegally with their parents,

Dreamers are currently protected against deportation under a program that allows them to work without obtaining citizenship. It's a program that Mr. Trump has tried to cancel.

But he said that he would extend the Dreamers' protection for another three years, thus allowing them to continue to have access to work permits.

He added that he would also extend GST licensees' visas for a period of three years. More than 300,000 people from war-affected or disaster-prone countries are allowed to work in the United States with TPS, another system Mr. Trump opposed.

There were other proposals, including $ 800 million in emergency humanitarian badistance, 2,750 security guards and additional security officers and 75 new teams of immigration judges. . Admittedly, the latter is largely in line with the suggestions of the Democrats.

The president said his proposals were "reasonable with a lot of compromise" and that they "would build trust and goodwill".

Analysis of Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington

Donald Trump has reached an agreement to reopen the government and build its promised wall – with a small problem.

He was negotiating with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, and if he wants to succeed, he will have to appeal to the Democrats.

It's a little ironic that the agreement described by Mr. Trump – his wall in exchange for the protection of some migrants from his undocumented childhood and his temporary residents – was dropped by the president last year, while it was only the Democrats who were pushing for closure.

After the senators had thought that they had an agreement, the White House issued new demands for legal immigration reform.

Now the Democrats control the House and the math has changed. The offer of protection of the temporary immigrant proposed by Mr. Trump is probably not superior to those that the courts have already imposed.

The president's decision may force his opponents to return to the bargaining table, but they still feel they have the upper hand. Unless it changes – or the president does not come back – the closure will last.

What did the leaders of Congress say?

The Democrats responded even before the speech was delivered.

The Speaker of the Democratic House, Nancy Pelosi, called the concessions "non-original" and "compile several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable and does not represent in all a good faith effort to restore security in the region. people's lives ".

"What we have not heard from the president, is sympathy for federal workers who face so much uncertainty because of #TrumpShutdown's chaos, "tweeted Ms. Pelosi.

Other key democrats have rejected these plans as a precautionary measure, bearing in mind the party's position that it will not negotiate until the government reopens.

After the announcement, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said that Mr. Trump had "withdrawn" the Dreamers and GST protections on his own and that offering some protections in return was not enough. "not a compromise, but a bigger hostage".

On the Republican side, McConnell praised the president's proposal as "a bold move to reopen the government, secure the border and take bipartite measures to solve the current immigration problems."

McConnell will ask the Senate to adopt the proposal next week, his spokesman said.

Opinion polls suggest that most voters accuse Mr. Trump of being responsible for this closure

How does closure affect unpaid workers?

Some of the 800,000 unpaid federal employees since December 22 are in an increasingly difficult situation.

They launched more than 1,500 calls to the crowdfunding site GoFundMe, seeking a financial lifeline to pay rent or feed and clothe their children.

In desperation, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Aviation Administration have just recalled more than 50,000 employees, who must work without pay.