Congress’s failure to pass a new funding law caused the government to shut down from midnight on January 20th to January 22nd while Democrats and Republicans debated funding issues.

Both political parties were unable to come to an agreement on an immigration bill called DACA, leading to the government shutdown.

Trump and the Republicans wanted to stop funding for DACA, also known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, while starting funding for Trump’s wall along the US Mexican border. This act would make it illegal for the children of illegal immigrants to remain in the United States.

On the other hand, the Democrats, the minority party of Congress, wanted to pass a bill allowing DREAMers, another name for the children of illegal immigrants, to stay in the U.S. The party refused to make a deal with the Republicans on funding and immigration policies, leading to a government stalemate.

During the three days of the government shutdown, all activity in non-essential departments ceased, including the jobs of 40% of the non-military employees.

On Monday, the 22nd at midday, the two parties struck a deal to end the government shutdown. Democrats agreed to continue the funding for DACA for two and a half more weeks, giving time for both sides to come to an agreement. In return, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that if no deal is made by then, he intends to bring up an immigration bill.

A few of the WHHS student body weighed in on the topic of immigration and the functionality of the government.

The majority of the students agreed that immigrants should be allowed to remain in the United States, with freshman Julianna D’Amico saying that “they should be allowed because they make up America too” and freshman John Cantilli saying that we should allow immigrants into the country because “our country was based on immigrants”

The government shutdown gave the new year of 2018 a rocky start as the Democrats and Republicans continue to clash on many essential issues.