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Democrats threaten government shutdown over 'Dreamers' program
Lawmakers are rushing to approve a budget before a midnight Friday deadline but Democrats are looking to protect the Dreamers, who fall under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The budget stalemate could lead to a government shutdown. (Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

Democrats threaten government shutdown over 'Dreamers' program

A federal budget stalemate is being blamed on the "Dreamers" program, a flurry of media outlets reported Wednesday. Various mainstream media reported that President Donald Trump strained relations between Democrats and Republicans with a comment he made about the illegal immigration program during a Cabinet meeting.

What did Trump say?

“Democrats are really looking at something very dangerous for our country,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “They are looking at shutting down, they want to have illegal immigrants, in many cases people that we don't want in our country.

“We don’t want to have that. We want to have a great, beautiful, crime-free country.”

Trump made the comment as lawmakers are rushing to approve a budget before a midnight Friday deadline. At that time, funding for many federal agencies is scheduled to run out. Passing a temporary budget before then would keep all areas of the government operating. Lawmakers would also have more time to hammer out a final spending plan.

Some media called Trump's statement a misrepresentation of what Democrats want. They are looking to protect the Dreamers, who fall under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The program is aimed at young immigrants "brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents, who work and live and pay taxes here," the news outlet stated.

Those safeguards ended three months ago, but Trump has said he could restore them, according to The Associated Press.

Democrats oppose Trump’s stand on other immigration issues as well. They don’t like the idea of building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Democrats also oppose efforts to prevent other illegal immigrants from bringing their relatives here, reports state.

Trump also spotlighted his stance on travel from six Muslim nations into the U.S.

"We don't want to have radical Islamic terrorism in this country," Trump said in the AP report.

That, however, is not an issue impacting current budget talks.

Top Republicans are trying to avoid a government shutdown and instead are focusing on pushing through a $1.5 trillion tax bill, the Associated Press reported.

Could a shutdown happen?

Trump didn't rule out the possibility of a government shutdown.

"It could happen," Trump said.

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