Lawmakers looking for a compromise on immigration

Deadline that could shut the government adds to pressure

WASHINGTON — Democratic and Republican lawmakers dug into a search for compromise on immigration Wednesday, seeking to take advantage of a window of opportunity opened by President Donald Trump. They’re under pressure to find a breakthrough before a deadline next week that could lead to a government shutdown neither side wants.

Democrats want urgent action to stave off deportation of some 800,000 immigrants protected by the Obama-era program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Trump still wants his border wall, but has toned down what that means. Conservatives fear he will strike a soft compromise that could infuriate their — and his — political base heading into this year’s elections.

Republicans and Democrats in both House and Senate readied for action in what may be an opportunity to break Washington gridlock.

“Everybody wants to find a deal there, myself included,” said Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. “It better be good, because that … is really one of the issues that got this president elected. He can’t afford to make a mistake.”

The Democrats talk most about DACA, which protects immigrants brought to the U.S. as children and who are here illegally. Many are viewed sympathetically in opinion polls and among most lawmakers.

Meanwhile, Republicans are heartened by an agreement to discuss other issues, such as border security and Trump’s long-promised wall, as well as limiting a “chain migration” system that gives advantages to relatives of legal immigrants.

Trump is demanding some elements of the wall as part of any agreement.

Meanwhile, a group of House Republicans, led by Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte of Virginia, unveiled their own immigration bill Wednesday, a measure that would reduce legal immigration by 25 percent, block federal grants to “sanctuary cities” that don’t cooperate with federal authorities and restrict the number of relatives immigrants already in the U.S. can bring here.