BORDER/GOVERNMENT/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WALL: “The federal government has been partially shut down for more than a month because of an impasse between Donald Trump and congressional Democrats over the president’s demand for $5.7 billion to build a wall along the southern border. Democrats have remained adamant in their opposition to such a barrier. However, on Wednesday, House Democratic leaders were drafting a letter to Trump that would offer roughly $5 billion in border security if the president agrees to reopen the government. Their proposal would not include money for any ‘new structures’ along the border. Meanwhile, the Senate is expected to vote twice Thursday [1-24-19] on possible remedies. One bill would provide the money as part of a spending bill with immigration provisions to reopen the government. The other would simply reopen the government temporarily while negotiations continue. Both might fail, meaning the impasse could continue. How much fence does $5.7 billion buy? Along the 2,000-mile U.S. border with Mexico, the Trump administration’s plan calls for building 215 miles of barriers. About 100 miles would be for new fencing and the rest would replace or bolster existing barriers.”
–Bart Jansen, “Key shutdown question: How much border wall does $5.7 billion buy?,” USA Today, January 23, 2019 2:15 pm