MSNBC correspondent Garrett Haake reported Wednesday that Senate Democrats acknowledge that any bipartisan immigration reform will need to include funding for a border wall.
Haake reported from Capitol Hill that despite Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) saying he has taken wall funding "off the table," Senate Democrats acknowledge a different story. He said Democrats realize the "simple reality" that if they want to pass a legislative fix for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the legislation will have to include tough border security measures.
"So Chuck Schumer doesn’t want to leave his offer sitting on the table and weaken his negotiating position any further," Haake said. "The bottom line is though that there's going to have to be some kind of money for border security–some kind of money for a wall–to get this deal done."
"Democrats in the Senate acknowledge it, and it's the simple reality in the House that if there's actually going to be a bill that becomes a law, whatever the Senate comes up with–and they'll go first to try and get to 60 votes–is probably going to have to get tougher on border security than most Democrats would like if it has a chance of getting through the House," Haake said.
Prior to the government shutting down over the weekend, Schumer said he offered Republicans a deal on immigration reform that the president did not agree to: A bill that would include permanent legal protections for DACA recipients in exchange for $25 billion in border security measures, the Washington Post reported. Without a fix for the undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children, Democrats ultimately refused to support the short-term spending measure to fund the government, resulting in a government shutdown at midnight Friday.
Monday, under pressure for shutting down the government and with a promise from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) to negotiate a DACA fix, Schumer and Democrats agreed to reopen the government by passing a measure to fund the government through Feb. 8. Lawmakers now must negotiate an immigration bill that could pass the Senate and House, as well as receive the president's support.