WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of senators has reached a deal on immigration to protect younger people brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
That’s according to a spokesman for Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake. The group includes Flake and Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin. They’ve worked with other pro-immigration senators for months in hopes of extending Obama-era protections called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.
The group was on track to address border security and other issues, such as preferential treatment for family members of immigrants already in the U.S.
Spokesman Jason Samuels says, “Sen. Flake’s bipartisan group — the only bipartisan group that has been negotiating a DACA fix — has struck a deal.”
Backed by the White House, Democratic and Republican lawmakers dug into a politically fraught 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.
Democrats want to stave off deportation of some 800,000 immigrants currently protected by an Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. Trump still wants his border wall, though he’s toned down what that means. Conservatives are wary, fearing he will strike a soft compromise.
The No. 2 Republicans and Democrats in both House and Senate — touched gloves Wednesday afternoon, deputized for action at what appears to be a moment of genuine opportunity to break Washington gridlock.
