Congress grapples with immigration, averting funding fight

Reuters: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation to help young “Dreamer” immigrants struggled to gain footing in the U.S. Congress on Monday, but there were no signs yet that failure to pass such a bill would trigger a rerun of January’s three-day partial government shutdown.

A months-long effort to give permanent protections to Dreamers, who were brought illegally to the United States when they were children, got a boost with the unveiling of a bipartisan bill in the Senate.

Republican President Donald Trump appeared to dismiss it immediately, saying any deal should provide funding for his long-promised Mexican border wall. The legislation did win the backing of a Senate Democrat, Dick Durbin, who has been central to the fight for Dreamers.

A broader bill by Durbin and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was rejected by the White House last month.

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