Democratic and Republican negotiators have agreed to finance construction of new barriers along the US-Mexico border as part of a deal to avoid another government shutdown.
The tentative agreement allocates nearly $1.4bn to border security, far less than the $5.7bn demanded by DonaldTrump. It allows for the construction of 55 miles of new fencing, built through existing designs such as metal slats, instead of the 215-mile concrete wall demanded by Trump in December.
The deal still needs to be approved by Congress and signed by the president. At a rally in El Paso, Texas, on Monday night, Trump said he had been informed about the committee’s progress, telling the crowd: “Just so you know, we’re building the wall anyway.”
Negotiators have been trying to reach a deal to fund nine government departments that partially closed for 35 days in December and January. Trump and congressional Democrats agreed on 25 January to temporarily fund the departments and negotiate a funding solution by 8 February.
Talks most recently broke down on Sunday, reportedly over a disagreement about the maximum number of undocumented immigrants who might be detained at any one time.
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