Fairly close to deal with Democrats: Trump
US President Donald Trump said yesterday he and lawmakers are close to a deal on protections for illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children, but stressed any such deal would need to include border security measures.
The Republican president met with Democratic congressional leaders on Wednesday evening to discuss the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a policy enacted by Democratic former President Barack Obama that protected so-called Dreamers from deportation and allowed them to stay and work in the United States.
"I think we're fairly close (to a deal), but we have to get massive border security," Trump told reporters at the White House yesterday.
Trump said last week he was ending the DACA program, but was allowing a six-window to give Congress time to act on the issue. He later said he might "revisit" the matter if lawmakers do not.
To gain the support from Democrats on the Dreamers, some 800,000 mostly Hispanic young adults, Trump appeared to have decided not to tie DACA legislation to funding for a wall along the southern US border with Mexico.
Trump made building such a wall a central piece of his 2016 election campaign, saying it would keep out illegal immigrants and drugs, but it has long been opposed by Democrats.
"The wall will come later," Trump said. "The wall is going to be built, it's going to be funded a little bit later."
Trump has previously appeared conflicted over the fate of the Dreamers and yesterday he indicated he did not want them deported.
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