Bill author Senator John Boozman of Arkansas told reporters Tuesday the border wall funds would be resolved in a giant trillion-dollar spending bill in December, along with the issue of whether to continue work permits for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, known as Dreamers.
"That will be part of the negotiations," he said. "I think at the end of the day, the president is going in insist that the border funding be there."
Boozman said the spending bill would direct construction to the areas on the border where the most human trafficking occurs. A wall along the entire border would be debated later, he said.
Democrats last week called the year-end spending bill a chance to restore Obamacare insurance subsidies, and they’ve also discussed using it to protect Dreamers from deportation. Because Senate Democrats have the power to filibuster government funding bills, the disputes over immigration, the border wall and Obamacare make the possibility of a shutdown fight very real.
