Trump, Democrats dig in on wall

Positions harden in early stages of US border security talks

US President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats hardened their positions on Thursday over a wall being built on the border with Mexico, raising new doubts over their ability to reach a deal just as negotiations were getting under way.

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters: “There’s not going to be any wall money in the legislation” to fund border security for the rest of this year.

Pelosi said funding for more ports of entry or additional border security technology was open for negotiation. She added the 17 House and Senate negotiators should decide the components of the nation’s border security.

But the Democratic negotiators went a step further from Pelosi’s prohibition on wall funds, unveiling a detailed opening position containing no money for any type of additional physical barriers on the border to control the flow of illegal immigrants and illegal drugs.

Previously Democrats have supported $1.3 billion for new border fencing this year or improvements to existing fencing.

Asked by reporters about Pelosi’s comment on wall funding, Trump said: “Without a wall, it doesn’t work.”

“If she doesn’t approve the wall, the rest of it’s just a waste of money and time and energy because it’s desperately needed,” Trump told the New York Times on Thursday.

Congress has a February 15 deadline for coming up with a new plan for further securing the southwestern border. Without a deal by then, a partial government shutdown could resume.

The president has also said he would consider declaring a national emergency to divert existing funds to building a wall, which would almost certainly trigger a constitutional legal challenge.

The bipartisan conference committee of House and Senate lawmakers held a public session Wednesday with the goal of producing a deal in about a week so it could be voted on by both chambers by the deadline.

Democratic leaders called on Trump to stand aside and let negotiators do their work as a way of fostering success.

Ignoring that advice, Trump issued a series of tweets on Thursday predicting failure and sounding alarms. “More troops being sent to the Southern Border to stop the attempted Invasion of Illegals, through large Caravans,” Trump tweeted.