White House to send framework for resuming immigration negotiations

The White House on Wednesday announced it would send a legislative framework to the Congress to restart the negotiations on immigration issues by next Monday.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement, "The plan represents a compromise that members of both parties can support. We encourage the Senate to bring it to the floor by Monday."

Sanders added that the framework would provide a permanent solution for the young immigrants, who will benefit from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme, which US President Donald Trump had scrapped it earlier, the Hill reported.

"The measure will fulfill President Trump's goals of securing the border, curbing family-based immigration and eliminating the diversity visa lottery that allows people from countries with low rates of immigration to the US to apply for visas," said Sanders.

On Monday, Trump signed into law the funding bill that officially ended the three-day government shutdown. The shutdown had left federal agencies and thousands of people affected.

The bill now funds the government up to February 8, along with the popular Children's Health Insurance Programme (CHIP) for at least six years.

However, it does not include the Obama-era DACA programme, which the Democrats had originally demanded funding.

The Senate cleared the government funding bill and passed it on to the House, who also supported and passed the bill and sent it for US President Donald Trump's signature to officially end the three-day government shutdown on Monday.

Lawmakers voted 266-150 to reopen the government and to extend the short-term funding.

The Democrats and Republicans agreed to pass a short-term spending bill of at least three weeks, to allow the funding of the government until February 8. The final vote stood at 81-18.

The Congress must pass a funding bill before February 8 to prevent another government shutdown.