The president’s bold move

President Donald Trump made a daring move on Wednesday, mapping out the beginnings of a deal with Democratic minority leaders to save “dreamers,” the young immigrants who were given temporary protections from DACA, the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals.

Buoyed by recent success with Democrats on averting a government shutdown over the debt limit, Trump has turned again to a couple of wily, hardened dealmakers: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California. If what emerges is a package that enacts border security enhancements the country actually needs while giving DACA protections the permanence of law, that is the kind of bipartisan problem-solving Americans should applaud.

Some rank-and-file congressional Republicans already have signaled there may indeed be room for compromise. North Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Meadows, who leads the House Freedom Caucus, said that “if we try to get the political rhetoric out of it and actually look for real solutions,” a deal is “entirely possible.”

Because Trump is keenly aware of public opinion, it has not escaped his notice that a majority of Americans strongly support finding a way to allow Dreamers to stay—and that includes a plurality of Republicans. Additionally, Trump said earlier that as far as dreamers were concerned, he had “a big heart” and they needn’t worry. It therefore surprised many when U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that DACA was being rescinded within six months. Trump said then he wanted a deal.

Trump has shaken up the political establishment in many unsettling ways since becoming president. We have disagreed with many of his decisions. But this is an example of where turning over the table may break the partisan gridlock that has kept this country from tackling the comprehensive immigration reform it so badly needs.