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Deadline to avoid government shutdown looms as lawmakers negotiate deal

Posted at 12:12 PM, Feb 11, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-11 14:12:13-05

WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House is refusing to rule out the possibility that the federal government may shut down again.

Negotiators are clashing over whether to limit the number of migrants authorities can detain, creating a new hurdle for a border security compromise that Congress can accept.

With a Friday deadline approaching, the two sides remain separated over how much to spend on President Donald Trump’s promised border wall.

Rising to the fore is a related dispute over curbing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, the federal agency that Republicans see as an emblem of tough immigration policies.

People involved in the talks say Democrats have proposed limiting the number of immigrants in the country illegally and caught inside the U.S. – not at the border – that the agency can detain.

The White House is reportedly open to another temporary budget to keep the government open past Friday, while lawmakers continue to negotiate.