Donald Trump's border wall and immigration plan blocked by US Senate

Two bipartisan proposals also did not receive enough votes to advance

Congress still has no clear path to protect Dreamers (AP)

President Donald Trump’s plan to reshape the US immigration system and fund his border wall has been blocked by the Senate, ultimately leaving Congress with no clear path to protect young undocumented immigrants – so-called dreamers – from deportation.

In a rebuke to the President, the Senate voted 39-60 against advancing a proposal backed by Mr Trump. Senators also turned away two other bipartisan proposals.

The rejection of Mr Trump’s plan – reflected in a measure introduced by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley – would have bolstered border security, restricted family-based immigration and ended a visa lottery. It would also have provided $25bn for the border wall and offered a chance of citizenship for up to 1.8m dreamers.

Mr Trump essentially forced Congress to address US immigration policy, a big talking point during his presidential campaign, when he rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme in September. The Obama-era policy lets young immigrants who were brought to the US illegally as minors, the dreamers, live and work in the US without fear of deportation.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had tried to pressure both Republicans and Democrats to vote for the Grassley bill, saying it was the only legislation that could pass both the Senate and House and receive Mr Trump’s signature.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the President, “since he created the problem by terminating DACA last August, has stood in the way of every single proposal that has had a chance of becoming law.”

Mr Schumer urged his Senate colleagues to vote for the bipartisan package, acknowledging that both parties would find things they support and oppose in the bill.

“But we have to do our jobs today,” Mr Schumer said. “We have to rise above our differences, admit that no one will get everything they want and accept painful compromises that come with democratic government.”

Ahead of the votes on Thursday, Mr Trump had threatened to veto any legislation that did not meet his demands on immigration.

Senators have scrambled over the past week to come up with bipartisan proposals that could have a chance of passing the Senate.

But leading up to the votes, the White House worked to torpedo several plans.

“The Schumer-Rounds-Collins immigration bill would be a total catastrophe,” Mr Trump wrote on Twitter. The deal, crafted by a group of centrist lawmakers, would have protected dreamers in exchange for roughly $25bn for border security.

“It creates a giant amnesty (including for dangerous criminals), doesn’t build the wall, expands chain migration, keeps the visa lottery, continues deadly catch-and-release, and bars enforcement even for FUTURE illegal immigrants,” the President added. “Voting for this amendment would be a vote AGAINST law enforcement, and a vote FOR open borders. If Dems are actually serious about DACA, they should support the Grassley bill!”

On Thursday afternoon, neither the plan drafted by a broad group of centrists nor one written by Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic Senator Chris Coon secured the 60 votes they needed to proceed.

The McCain-Coons proposal would have given a pathway to citizenship for 3.2m illegal immigrants. It also did not authorise any government funding to be used for Mr Trump’s border wall.

It is uncertain how the Senate will proceed to find a legislative fix for DACA, which expires March 5. About 700,000 undocumented immigrants are currently shielded from deportation under the programme. An additional 1.1m dreamers were eligible for the program, but they did not apply.