President Trump Says He Supports Temporary DACA Protections for More Wall Funding

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls the proposal a ‘non-starter’

President Trump on Saturday outlined a new proposal designed to jump-start negotiations over the partial government shutdown, calling for $5.7 billion in funding for steel barriers in high-priority areas on the southern border in exchange for a three-year protection from deportation for some undocumented immigrants.

Democrats had already said the proposal, details of which were reported in advance, was a non-starter, suggesting no immediate change in the dynamics over the monthlong shutdown.

The offer to codify protections for young immigrants illegally brought to the U.S. as children, known as Dreamers, is seen as a major concession inside the White House. Mr. Trump also proposed $800 million in humanitarian assistance, $805 million in new drug-detection technology, 2,750 more border agents and law-enforcement officials, 75 new immigration judge teams and a new system to allow Central American minors to apply for asylum in their home countries.

“This is a common-sense compromise both parties should embrace,” Mr. Trump said from the White House.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said he would give Mr. Trump’s proposal a vote in the Senate this coming week, calling it a “fair compromise.” The plan would need Democratic support in the chamber to clear procedural hurdles. Until now, Mr. McConnell has stayed on the sidelines in the shutdown impasse, urging House Democrats and the White House to negotiate.

Mr. McConnell previously said he would only allow a vote in the Senate when the president and Democrats were on the same page. On Dec. 22, the first day of the shutdown, Mr. McConnell said: “We’ve pushed the pause button until the president, from whom we’ll need a signature, and Senate Democrats, from who we’ll need votes, reach an agreement.”

The Democratic-controlled House next week will vote on a package of six funding bills that would fund most closed government agencies and would allot money for various aspects of border security such as an increase in immigration judges and enhanced infrastructure at some ports of entry.

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