Trump doubles down on border wall for DACA deal

President Donald Trump said again Friday that unless there was funding for a border wall, there would be no bill to protect the mostly Latino children who were illegally brought into the country.

The president reissued the challenge to Democrats in a tweet.

The Democrats have been told, and fully understand, that there can be no DACA without the desperately needed WALL at the Southern Border and an END to the horrible Chain Migration & ridiculous Lottery System of Immigration etc. We must protect our Country at all cost!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 29, 2017

Trump has been promising a border wall between the United States and Mexico since his campaign days.

He ended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which has protected young people, called Dreamers, from deportation, in September. The move becomes effective March 2020.

No new applications have been accepted since then, but recipients whose renewals were to expire by March 5, 2018, were allowed to apply (by Oct. 5) for a two-year authorization.

Nearly 800,000 young immigrants had been granted a reprieve from deportation and the ability to work legally in the U.S. under the program created in 2012 by former President Barack Obama.

Striking a deal between the sides has been slow going.

Last week, ABC News reported that Democratic negotiator Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) said, “We have a long way to go” on the bipartisan effort.

Republicans and Democrats met that same week, along with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and border protection officials. U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona is a lead negotiator for the GOP.

“We have to get this done by March 5. We’ve got to be realistic about what we do,” Flake told ABC News.

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