Washington DC, Jan 22 (EFE).- The United States President on Monday signed a bill to reopen the federal government after it was shutdown for nearly three days.
Donald Trump signed the bill after congressional Democrats had approved a budget extension until Feb. 8 in exchange for assurances from the Republican Party to debate the plight of the around 800,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children, known as “Dreamers”.
Democrats had refused to approve a budget to fund the federal government until the president and Republicans agreed to protect some of the 800,000 Dreamers.
Under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, these immigrants had been protected from deportation under a policy known as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
Trump repealed the program last year, giving Congress until Mar. 5 to provide an alternative legislative solution.
The Senate and House voted Monday to approve the budget after a compromise between Democrats and Republicans, who had failed to reach an agreement last week, causing the government to partially shut down on Saturday at midnight.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said Monday that the party would drop its opposition to a bill funding government operations through Feb. 8, adding that Democrats had agreed to end the government shutdown in exchange for a pledge by the Republican majority to allow a vote on a bill to protect the Dreamers.