Trump to Offer Deal on Dreamers in Exchange for Border Funds

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump will offer Democrats a deal that would extend protections for so-called Dreamers by three years in exchange for $5.7 billion in funds he is seeking for a border barrier, according to a person familiar with the proposal.

Trump will announce his proposal in a speech set for 4 p.m. Saturday. The plan would offer Democrats Trump’s approval of the BRIDGE Act, a 2017 bill from the previous Congress that sought to extend the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children.

The measure, which hasn’t been re-introduced in the new Congress that began earlier this month, was sponsored by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and backed by Democrats including Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin.

The deal would also extend the visas for Temporary Protection Status holders, though it is unclear for how long.

The immigration proposals would be big policy wins for Democrats, though Trump’s demands for a physical barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border remains unpalatable for them.

The president doubled down on his demand for a wall Saturday morning as he left for Dover Air Force Base. He also took the chance to make another swipe at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"She’s being controlled by the radical left," Trump said, adding that he hopes she’ll come around to see "everybody knows, that walls work."

To contact the reporters on this story: Erik Wasson in Washington at ewasson@bloomberg.net;Laura Curtis in Washington at lcurtis7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Derek Wallbank at dwallbank@bloomberg.net, Kim Chipman

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