Border security talks have not progressed over the weekend, growing anxiety is not going to materialize



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Two sources said the talks were ongoing and had not completely collapsed, but both sides of the talks were discussing the possibility of reaching a broader agreement.

Outstanding issues – the level of funding for border barriers as well as funding increases for detention facilities and staff – were not new and have long been the sticking point of the discussions. But negotiators on both sides told reporters late last week that they thought they were on the road to solving the problems.

Senator Richard Shelby of GOP Alabama, a key figure in the talks, was pessimistic Sunday morning, telling Fox News that the talks were "stalled".

"We hope to get there," said Shelby, adding that he was "not confident". An agreement could be concluded Monday.

Last month, President Donald Trump signed a short-term bill to put an end to the longest stalemate ever recorded by the federal government, putting in place a three-week bill providing for funding. measures taken by the government until February 15 without funding the border wall with Mexico.
At the time, he said that bipartisan congressional negotiators would discuss border security and reserved the possibility of declaring a national emergency for the construction of the wall. Congressional negotiators have met to discuss border security since Trump signed the interim measure. As the next deadline approached, key figures seemed optimistic about the possibility of reaching an agreement, as previously reported by CNN.

This optimism faded throughout the weekend and the Democratic participants were to meet on Sunday morning to discuss next steps as border negotiations failed. Two sources said that if bipartite negotiations were stalled, the Democrats in the House were considering proposing a package of measures that would include a permanent resolution of the Department of Homeland Security until September, as well as six others. outstanding funding measures for a full year.

Dispute Regarding ICE Beds

A Democratic Assistant informed of the talks said the talks "were broken" Saturday after the Senate GOP rejected their position on the boundaries imposed on immigration detention beds and customs in the interior of the country. The source said progress had been made on border gates and detention beds, but the Democrats "can not accept physical barrier costs that exceed the desired level without ICE GOP concessions".

Another assistant told CNN that he would be "very surprised" if everything was reunited on Sunday.

Two senior Republican officials told CNN on Sunday morning that negotiations were collapsing because Democrat demand for enforcement caps was ineffective.

The ceiling desired by Democrats was far too low for them and Republicans would argue that ICE officials must make impossible decisions about immigrants, including those who may have a criminal record, to detain.

The assistants stated that the White House had been read to explain how and why the talks had been blocked.

"They know what happened and why," said an assistant. "No matter what kind of artificial limitation of the internal application with regard to criminals is a non-starter."

When asked when they were about to find a compromise on the amount of barriers at the southern border, an assistant said it was "d & # 39; "Commercial offers", but that no final agreement had been reached.

Significant differences a few days before the deadline

In addition to Shelby, the chair of the Senate appropriations committee, along with other legislators and senior officials, emphasized differences that remained.

Wyoming representative Liz Cheney, a member of the GOP executive, said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that she hoped the government would not do the same. Purpose of a new closure and insisted that an agreement provides for the financing of a border fence.

"I hope your committee will be able to come up with a proposal we can all support, which the president can sign," said Cheney. "But it will include funding that will allow us to secure the border, as well as funding some kind of barrier."

Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told CNN on Saturday that Ana Cabrera expects a balanced deal and would be willing to support a $ 2 billion deal dollars for the creation of a border fence.

Mick Mulvaney, Acting Chief of Staff of the White House, said on Sunday that he "honestly knows" not if an agreement was reached and that he "n? would not rule out the closure of the government by the end of the week.

"You asked me a question: Is the closure completely off the table? I would say no," Mulvaney said.

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