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12th Feb 2019

Deal reached in US to provide partial funding for border wall

Alan Loughnane

Trump wall

Concessions.

Democrats and Republicans have reached an agreement in principle over border security to fund the US government and have averted another potential government shutdown.

The agreement reached by politicians from both sides of Congress included nearly $1.4bn (£1bn) for 55 miles of new fencing along the US-Mexico border.

The deal still needs to be approved by Congress and signed by the president, but there’s optimism that it could be approved by Friday.

The barrier would be built in the Rio Grande Valley, in Texas, using existing designs, such as metal slats, and not the concrete wall which President Trump called for before Christmas and in his election campaign.

The 55 mile stretch is significantly less than the 212 miles requested by Trump, and the $1.4bn in funding is much less than the $5.7bn Trump demanded in December.

Trump refused to relent on these demands and it led to the longest partial shutdown of the US government in history. Hundreds of thousand federal employees went unpaid for 35 days, postponing the State of the Union address and causing Trump’s polling numbers to fall.

The US President held a rally in El Paso on Monday where large crowds showed up to see him make his case for the border wall.

A BBC cameraman was the victim of an attack at the rally.

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