White House Adds To List Of Border Demands As Shutdown Continues – NPR

President Trump speaks as he departs the White House for meetings at Camp David on Sunday. Trump stood firm on his demand for billions of dollars to fund a border wall with Mexico, which has forced a shutdown of the government now entering its third week.

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

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Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump speaks as he departs the White House for meetings at Camp David on Sunday. Trump stood firm on his demand for billions of dollars to fund a border wall with Mexico, which has forced a shutdown of the government now entering its third week.

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

With the partial government shutdown in its third week, White House officials and congressional leaders again failed to make progress toward a resolution during talks on Sunday.

In the latest proposal put before the House Appropriations Committee, President Trump remains steadfast in his request for $5.7 billion in funding for a border wall with Mexico. NPR’s John Burnett reports, “The White House is asking for 234 miles of steel barrier — which works out to about $24 million a mile.”

However, in what could be read as a gesture to appease Democrats, the Trump administration is now offering $800 million in aid to address humanitarian needs at the border, including better medical care and additional facilities for processing and holding those in temporary custody considered to be the most “vulnerable population.” In a Power Point presentation, the White House states that 50 migrants per day are referred to medical providers.

Other items on the White House list include:

• $563 million for 75 additional immigration judges and support staff to “reduce the backlog of pending immigration cases.”
• $211 million to hire an additional 750 Border Patrol Agents
• $4.2 billion to support 52,000 detention beds

In a tweet, President Trump characterized Sunday’s meeting as “productive,” but The Associated Press reports Democrats familiar with the talks had a different take, saying the White House did not offer budget details and again refused to reopen the government.

President Trump also re-asserted on Sunday that he’s willing to declare a national emergency in order find funding to build a border wall.