An explosive new ad by the Trump campaign implying that Democrats would be "complicit" in any murder committed by undocumented immigrants "doesn't work," a leading Democratic senator said. 
 
 "The American people are not going to accept the premise that immigrants are criminals and that we ought to deport the 'Dreamers,'" Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" Sunday about an ad posted Saturday night to Trump's campaign website and YouTube page. 
 
 "It doesn't work," Durbin said. 
 
 The ad was posted as Republicans and Democrats try to reach an agreement that will end the government shutdown that started at the stroke of midnight Saturday. 
 
 Immigration issues have been core to that debate, including the president's proposed border wall and Democrats' call for protections for so-called 'Dreamers,' the approximately 800,000 young immigrants who were brought illegally to the U.S. as children. 
 
 "What it comes down to is we need a reasonable approach [to immigration] that is mindful of our national security, number one, but embraces a basic value in America," Durbin said. "We are a diverse nation, a nation of immigrants, and we're proud of it." 
 
 Stephanopoulos asked about the deal that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reportedly offered to the president Friday -- full funding of the border wall in exchange for protecting 'Dreamers' from deportation and making no changes to some other programs that enable legal immigration into the country. 
 
 "It is true that Chuck Schumer made what I considered to be a bold and important concession and said, 'Yes, we'll go forward with the wall as long as we do this in a responsible fashion,'" Durbin responded. 
 
 Stephanopoulos asked if it was correct that the border wall would cost $20 billion. 
 
 "I'm not going to quote numbers because I don't think that's my place ... but I can tell you it was a substantial commitment to the president. The president embraced it. And Chuck came back to the Hill." 
 
 But, Durbin added, "Two hours later, a call from the White House says, 'The deal is off. We're not going to stand by this at all.'" 
 
 The senator added, "How can you negotiate with the president under those circumstances where he agrees face-to-face to move forward with a certain path and then within two hours calls back and pulls the plug?" 
 
 Asked if Congress will reach a deal in time for the government to reopen Monday, Durbin said he couldn't answer but added, "There are bipartisan conversations going on right now." 
 
 In a separate appearance on "This Week" Sunday, North Carolina Republican Congressman Mark Meadows disputed the notion that the president had reached an agreement with Schumer. 
 
 Meadows, who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, addressed reports that he had convinced Trump to reject the proposed deal. 
 
 “The president is the president of the United States,” the congressman said. “He makes his own decisions.” 
 
 “Any suggestion that I'm going to convince the president to go one way or another greatly exaggerates my influence," Meadows said. "And I will say this, there was no deal. There is no deal.” 
 
 Meadows also took issue with reports about how the border wall would be funded. "You were talking about Schumer offering $20 billion over seven years -- he can't do that," Meadows said. 
 
 Meadows continued, “You can't obligate a future Congress. So even if [Schumer] made that offer, he can't even deliver on the very offer that he's putting forth. So when we look at this, let's call it what it is. This is a tactic.” ||||| Washington (CNN) Sen. Bernie Sanders denounced a web ad recently put out by President Donald Trump's reelection campaign, which called Democrats "complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants." 
 
 "It is really unbelievable and so sad for our country that we have a President of the United States that says such nonsense and such outrageous statements," the Vermont Independent, who caucuses with Democrats, said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday morning. 
 
 The ad was released hours into the government shutdown. The largest point of contention between political parties that led to the government shutdown was immigration policy -- including the funding for a proposed border wall and the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which has protected undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation. 
 
 "They need a path toward citizenship," Sanders said, referring to the beneficiaries of DACA, known as Dreamers. "Then you see a President put something like that on the air, trying to divide us up, trying to foment hatred. It is really sad." 
 
 Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, said on ABC's "This Week" that the rhetoric used in the Trump ad "doesn't work," citing Republican Ed Gillespie's failed gubernatorial campaign ads , which attacked now-Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam for voting "in favor of sanctuary cities that let dangerous illegal immigrants back on the street" and linking his vote to the rise of the violent gang MS-13. 
 
 Read More ||||| The Trump campaign released a new ad spot on Saturday calling Democrats "complicit" in all murders by immigrants in the country illegally, following the opposition of Democratic senators to a short-term spending bill, which resulted in a federal government shutdown on Friday. 
 
 "President Trump Donald John TrumpOakland Raiders's Marshawn Lynch sits during national anthem, then scores touchdown Trump declares state of emergency in Carolinas ahead of Hurricane Florence Ex-NFL player tears into Nike: Kaepernick ad ‘like 9/11 and Pearl Harbor’ MORE is right — build the wall, deport criminals, stop illegal immigration now," the ad says, showing clips of Democratic Minority Leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer Charles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerKavanaugh thoroughly understands the role of impartiality in America's judicial system Left fed up with Schumer’s Supreme Court playbook Election Countdown: Fallout from Massachusetts stunner | In Delaware, Carper looks to avoid next progressive upset | Dem 2020 primary already in full swing | How a Dem ex-governor hopes to take red-state Tennessee | GOP challengers hit Dems over tax votes MORE (N.Y.) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro PelosiImpeachment will be at the top of Democrats' agenda if they take the House majority Obama is not the leader of Democratic Party, says ex-spokesman Republicans and Democrats face off in ruthless election fight for victory MORE (Calif.) "Democrats who stand in our way will be complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants." 
 
 The campaign forwarded the video ad, titled "Complicit" on the first anniversary of Trump's inauguration, after most Senate Democrats voted against the spending patch because Republicans would not offer to include legislation protecting thousands of immigrants brought to the country illegally as children from deportation. 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 Trump faulted Democrats for the shutdown early on Saturday, saying the party wants "unchecked illegal immigration." 
 
 The president has previously signaled he is open to a fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program after rescinding it last year, but attacked Democrats for refusing to get behind increased border security in exchange for securing votes for the spending bill. 
 
 Democrats have targeted Republicans for using the Children's Health Insurance Program as a bargaining chip, and have blamed Trump's "chaotic" majority party for allowing the shutdown to happen on its watch. ||||| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is offering a path to citizenship for up to 1.8 million young illegal immigrants but insists on measures that would curb some legal immigration programs and provide a border wall with Mexico, senior White House officials said on Thursday. 
 
 The White House offered to more than double the number of “Dreamers” - people brought to the country illegally as children - who would be protected from deportation, describing it as a major concession aimed at attracting enough votes for an immigration deal from Democrats. 
 
 But the plan comes with significant strings attached to appeal to Republicans, including requirements to slash family sponsorship of immigrants, tighten border security and provide billions of dollars in funding for a border wall with Mexico that Trump made one of his major campaign promises. 
 
 The package was immediately panned by pro-immigration groups, which said the plan was a bad trade-off. It was also slammed by some conservative groups, which decried the expansion of “amnesty” for illegal immigrants. 
 
 The head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Democratic Representative Michelle Lujan Grisham, said the Trump plan used Dreamers as “bargaining chips for sweeping anti-immigrant policies.” 
 
 Early reaction from Republicans in the Senate - where the plan may receive a vote in early February - was positive. Conservative Republican Senator Tom Cotton called the plan “generous and humane, while also being responsible.” Republicans narrowly control the chamber by 51-49 and need Democratic votes to pass legislation. 
 
 The fight over protections for Dreamers, which are set to expire in March, was part of the standoff between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate that resulted in a three-day government shutdown that ended on Monday. 
 
 They agreed to extend funding until Feb. 8, leaving a small window to come to a deal on immigration. Trump’s plan will help provide guidance for those talks, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement. 
 
 Negotiations will be tough. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who has championed the cause of the Dreamers, said the plan put Trump’s “entire hardline immigration agenda - including massive cuts to legal immigration - on the backs of these young people.” 
 
 ‘HORRENDOUS TRADE-OFF’ 
 
 Trump, whose tough immigration stance was a key part of his 2016 presidential campaign, said in September he was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program for Dreamers that was created by Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. 
 
 The DACA protections apply to about 700,000 people, but White House officials said there were at least that many illegal immigrants who qualified for the program but did not sign up for it. 
 
 Officials said the 1.8 million people could apply to become citizens in 10 to 12 years providing they had jobs and did not commit crimes. 
 
 Trump’s plan would require Congress to set up a $25 billion “trust fund” to build a wall on the southern border with Mexico, and invest in better protections at the northern border with Canada. 
 
 Congress would have to allocate additional money to border guards and immigration judges, a figure that the Republican president pegged at $5 billion on Wednesday, but which White House officials said was up for further discussion. 
 
 The White House also wants Congress to change rules to allow for the rapid deportation of illegal immigrants from countries other than Mexico and Canada who arrive at the U.S. border, the officials said. 
 
 White House officials made clear that a deal could not only address DACA and the border wall but must also end a visa lottery program for certain countries and limit family sponsorship of immigrants to spouses and minor children - ending sponsorship for parents, older children and siblings. 
 
 Stephen Legomsky, who was chief counsel at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Obama administration, called the plan a “horrendous tradeoff” and predicted Democrats would reject it. 
 
 “It offers a one-time citizenship path to innocent Dreamers and expects in return a massive permanent cut to family immigration, the permanent elimination of the entire diversity program, and a huge expenditure for a border wall,” said Legomsky, now at Washington University Law School in St. Louis. 
 
 A group of immigrant youth called United We Dream said the deal was “pitting us against our own parents, Black immigrants and our communities.” 
 
 Groups that oppose allowing illegal immigrants to remain in the United States also voiced criticism, and urged Congress to take its time. 
 
 “While it includes a number of tough immigration enforcement provisions, it includes an amnesty that is more than twice the size of the DACA population,” said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors restrictions. 
 
 HOUSE PATH UNCLEAR 
 
 To become law, the measures would also need to pass the House of Representatives, where Republicans have a bigger majority. A senior White House official declined to speculate on whether the plan would pass the chamber. 
 
 “I think the House will have an independent vehicle,” the second official said. “We’re not trying to force something on the House.” 
 
 Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, a Republican Cuban-American from Miami and longtime advocate of immigration reform, praised Trump for putting forward a “serious proposal.” 
 
 Democratic Representative Luis Gutiérrez said, however, that the plan “doesn’t pass the laugh test. 
 
 U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he arrives in Zurich, Switzerland January 25, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria 
 
 “It would be far cheaper to erect a 50-foot concrete statue of a middle finger and point it towards Latin America, because both a wall and the statue would be equally offensive and equally ineffective,” the Illinois lawmaker said on Twitter.
– Just hours into the government shutdown, the Trump campaign released a video claiming that Democrats in Congress will be "complicit" in every murder committed by immigrants in the country illegally, the Hill reports. "President Trump is right—build the wall, deport criminals, stop illegal immigration now," the ad says. "Democrats who stand in our way will be complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants." (Watch it here.) The campaign posted the ad Saturday after negotiations over a short-term spending bill stalled over protections for immigrants in the US under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The ad was greeted with anger by Democrats and Independents in Washington and with consternation by some of the president's fellow Republicans. "It is really unbelievable and so sad for our country that we have a President of the United States that says such nonsense and such outrageous statements," said Bernie Sanders, per CNN. Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, meanwhile, said the ad "doesn't work," ABC News reports. "The American people are not going to accept the premise that immigrants are criminals and that we ought to deport the 'dreamers,'" Durbin said. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan told CBS's Face the Nation he doesn't know if the ad is "necessarily productive."