Three groups funded by conservative mega-donor Charles Koch called on President Trump and congressional leaders Thursday to embrace a deal to provide permanent immigration benefits to Dreamers in exchange for border security funding.

In a letter to Trump and the leaders, the heads of the Libre Initiative, Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Partners said they are "greatly encouraged that many Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate recognize that the path out of the current shutdown is through a deal that solves both of these priorities."

About a quarter of the federal government has been shut down since Dec. 22, amid a dispute between Trump and congressional Democrats over $5.7 billion in funding for Trump's proposed border wall.

The Koch letter -- signed by Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, Daniel Garza,
president of the Libre Initiative and Nathan Nascimento, executive vice president of Freedom Partners -- calls for "enhanced funding for the border," rather than specifically wall funding, as the administration has requested.

The Koch groups also specifically ask for a permanent solution for Dreamers -- undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as minors.

"As members come together in support of such a deal, it is essential that lawmakers work to ensure that provisions related to the Dreamers provide permanent relief – not a short-term, bandaid solution," wrote Phillips, Garza and Nascimento.

"Right now families, businesses, and communities face ongoing uncertainty because Dreamers do not know what their futures hold – impacts that affect all of us and go well beyond the immigrant community," they added.

Some Republican senators have floated the possibility of such a deal, but similar appeals have fallen flat in the House, where similar deals were floated last summer.

https://thehill.com/latino/425905-ko...or-border-deal