Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would support a plan that offered a pathway to citizenship for so-called Dreamers, young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children, as part of a broader immigration package that the White House is expected to unveil next week.
Trump made the comments to a group of reporters assembled for a briefing on the president’s immigration plan before he departs to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum. According to the Associated Press, Trump said he would be open to allowing certain immigrants to become citizens after “10 or 12 years”.
Trump told reporters he would allow the Dreamers to “morph into” citizens over a period of time.
“Whatever they’re doing, if they do a great job, I think it’s a nice thing to have the incentive, of after a period of years, being able to become a citizen.”
Lindsey Graham, one of the Republican Senators deeply involved in the negotiations over immigration, called Trump’s statement “a major breakthrough”.
“I truly appreciate President Trump making it clear that he supports a path to citizenship for Daca recipients,” he said. “This will greatly help the Senate efforts to craft a proposal which President Trump can sign into law.”
Trump had previously rejected the idea of citizenship for the young immigrants as “amnesty”.
According to the AP, a senior White House official immediately clarified the remarks, telling reporters that a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers was only a “discussion point” in the plan that the White House would preview to Congress on Monday.
Earlier on Wednesday, the White House said the president planned to offer congressional leaders a “legislative framework” that could lead to a compromise deal on immigration, one week after the Senate overcame an impasse to reopen the federal government.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the proposal, set to unveil Monday, would reflect a “compromise that members of both parties can support” and urged the Senate to vote on the measure.
“This framework will fulfill the four agreed-upon pillars: securing the border and closing legal loopholes; ending extended-family chain migration; cancelling the visa lottery; and providing a permanent solution on Daca,” Sanders said during the press briefing on Wednesday. “After decades of inaction by Congress, it’s time we work together to solve this issue once and for all.”
For weeks, lawmakers have struggled to divine what the president wants in an immigration proposal. Trump has at times appeared to be swayed by entreaties from Democrats to close a bipartisan deal, including a pathway to citizenship for the young undocumented immigrants, known as the Dreamers. But the president has soured on various plans after debriefings with his staff, and angrily rebuked several senators who have approached him with proposals.
On Tuesday, Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, publicly rescinded his offer to fully fund a wall along the US-Mexico border, another twist in the chaotic negotiations, which are trying to balance the president’s demands and extend protections for the Dreamers, whose legal status was thrown into uncertainty when Trump ended the federal program that shielded them from deportation.
As part of a deal to end the shutdown, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell agreed to a “fair and open” debate on immigration legislation. But liberals and immigrant activists were displeased with the agreement, expressing a profound distrust in the Republican leader.
Asked about the lack of trust, McConnell told reporters: “I intend to keep my word.”
A Daca recipient joins a rally outside the US Capitol amid the government shutdown. Photograph: UPI / Barcroft Images
Nearly 700,000 undocumented immigrants are shielded from deportation by the program known as Daca [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals]. The Trump administration announced an end to the program in September, but offered a six-month grace period for Congress to broker new protections.
Hardline conservatives have panned a provision for a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers as “amnesty”, but public polling suggest that a majority of Americans think the immigrants should be allowed to become citizens if they meet certain requirements.
In that time, Trump demanded lawmakers craft a “bill of love” that protects the Dreamers and pledged to sign any package Congress sent him. But Trump balked a week before the shutdown, when a bipartisan group of six lawmakers proposed a plan that would have paired a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and billions for border security .
During a meeting, he referred to several Africa and Caribbean nations as “shithole countries”, according to one senator, and wondered why they couldn’t instead accept more immigrants from countries like Norway. The ensuing furor deepened recriminations and imperiled the talks.
On Tuesday, Sanders repeated the administration’s view of the proposal, telling reporters the plan was “totally unacceptable”. She said that she did not believe lawmakers and the White House were that “far apart” and reiterated the administration’s support for enshrining Daca into law.
Later that night, Trump taunted the Democratic leader: “Cryin’ Chuck Schumer fully understands, especially after his humiliating defeat, that if there is no Wall, there is no Daca.”
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