Trump offered the Dems a deal: temporary protection for Dreamers in exchange for wall funding. Should they take it? No. This is a disingenuous offer that your two year old can see through. First, the protection is temporary. This means as soon as the protection expires Trump will begin aggressively deporting these young people assuming he does not do so before then. And just as the wall is a rallying cry (and dog whistle) for Trump’s base, deportation of DACA’s is too. Trump’s alt-right base and the Fox news personalities who keep them in a permanent state of frenzy consider DACA a program that grants amnesty to undeserving criminals. Whatever he agrees to now, Trump will flip at the first sign that he has the political muscle to do so. In short, he cannot be trusted to abide by the terms of even a temporary reprieve.

Second, the Supreme Court’s refused to intervene before the administration exhausts the lower courts appeals process. This leaves in place lower case rulings that grant a temporary stay of deportations through the remainder of this term and likely through the year. Offering Dems something they already have is not a deal.

Third, Dems should not approve allocation of one dollar to extend the current wall. Money should be allocated to improve border security to include repair and maintenance of existing structures and investments in new technology that address the limitations of a physical barrier. The focus should be on where it will do the most good (at ports of legal entry). If the intent is to secure our borders and not pay homage to Trump’s ego or erect a symbol of American isolationism there is plenty of room for agreement. But this is not the intent of the wall. It is a homage to Trump’s ego. It is a “White’s Only” symbol reminiscent of the Jim Crow era. The bipartisan committee cannot in three weeks work out the logistics of improved border security. They have neither the expertise or the time to do so. They can agree on a figure and detail how the money can and cannot be spent.