Democrats say deal reached with Trump to avert shutdown, immigration talks to continue

U.S. Senate Democrats have reached a deal that would avert a partial government shutdown and buy time to negotiate new restrictions on President Donald Trump‘s immigration crackdown, a Democratic aide said on Thursday.

UPDATE: Odds of government shutdown rise after funding deal stalls in Senate

The deal would separate the debate over aggressive immigration tactics from a broad funding package that Congress must pass before midnight Friday to ensure that agencies such as the Pentagon and the Department of Health and Human Services can operate without interruption.

The White House and Senate Republicans did not immediately confirm whether a deal had been reached.

Democrats had threatened to hold up the funding package, in an effort to force Trump to rein in the Department of Homeland Security, which handles immigration enforcement among other matters.

The agreement would strip out DHS from the funding bill, allowing Congress to pass the overall package of bills quickly and avert a partial government shutdown on Saturday.

DHS funding would be temporarily extended for two weeks, giving negotiators time to reach an agreement on immigration tactics.

Senate Democrats, angered by the shooting of a second U.S. citizen by immigration agents in Minneapolis last weekend, have demanded new restrictions, including an end to roving patrols, a ban on face masks, and a requirement to wear body cameras.

The killing of Alex Pretti last Saturday spurred widespread public outrage, prompting the Trump administration to de-escalate operations in the region.

Any changes made in the Senate would also have to be approved by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which signed off on the spending package last week.

Reporting by Richard Cowan, David Morgan, Nolan McCaskill, Bo Erickson, Katharine Jackson and Susan Heavey in Washington and Ananya Palyekar in Bengaluru; editing by Andy Sullivan, Chizu Nomiyama; Alistair Bell and Edmund Klamann.

This story has been updated to reflect the deal being reached.