WASHINGTON — (Scroll Down For Video) — A shutdown of the United States federal government began at midnight EST on Saturday, after a failure to pass a relevant legislation funding bill for government operations and agencies.
This stemmed from disputes over the status of persons affected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration policy, and therefore whether those covered under the program should face deportation or have a path to permanent resident or citizenship. There was also a dispute over whether funding should be allocated towards building a Mexico–United States border wall, a keystone policy during Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
This is the second shutdown in United States history to occur while both chambers of Congress as well as the White House are controlled by the same party; a brief government shutdown in 1980 also occurred under unified party rule.
The shutdown began on the first anniversary of Donald Trump taking office.
WATCH LIVE: House votes on funding measure to end government shutdown
