Trump sets potential compromise

President might cut deal to give Dreamers path to legal status

WASHINGTON — A day after President Donald Trump threatened to end protections for so-called Dreamers, he stunned all sides again Wednesday by endorsing a legislative fix that could put the young immigrants on the path to legal status.

Trump appeared eager to cut a deal, embracing a plan that has potential to appeal to Republicans and Democrats. It would combine beefed-up border security with more lasting deportation protections for the nearly 800,000 recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Contours of any emerging agreement remain a work in progress.

But the dire outlook that loomed Tuesday over the young immigrants — sparking an eruption of street protests and an outpouring of public support — lifted somewhat.

“Congress, I really believe, wants to take care of this situation,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “I’d like to see something where we have good border security, and we have a great DACA transaction where everybody is happy and now they don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

“Today was a good day in a generally very partisan town,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “We are going to fight hard for DACA. We’re going to fight hard for the Dream Act. We believe in it. We believe if we keep up the fight, we will succeed.”

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday he was sympathetic to the Dreamers, but wanted to bolster border security to prevent new illegal arrivals.

“Where does that compromise exist? That’s what we’re going to spend the next months figuring out,” he said. “It’s only reasonable and fitting that we also address the root cause of the problem, which is borders that are not sufficiently controlled, while we address this very real and very human problem that’s right in front of us.”

Most Democrats now support the Dream Act, even though several opposed it during a failed 2010 effort.

And many Republicans have joined the cause. Almost 20 House Republicans now co-sponsor legislation from Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-fla., that would give the young immigrants five-year permits to remain in the U.S. to work or go to school.

In the Senate, a handful of Republicans have publicly supported a Dream Act-like bill, and more would likely vote for it if it came to a vote. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has expressed an interest in helping the Dreamers.