WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on a bipartisan meeting on immigration (all times local):
7:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump is reiterating that a wall along the southern U.S. border with Mexico is a requirement for a deal to provide legal status for people brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with lawmakers on immigration policy in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Trump tweets, “As I made very clear today, our country needs the security of the Wall on the Southern Border, which must be part of any DACA approval.”
His comments come hours after a bipartisan meeting with lawmakers to discuss efforts to codify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program into law. Democratic lawmakers said afterward they would not support Trump’s demand for a wall and suggested Trump would be open to improved fencing and electronic security measures instead of a physical wall.
Lawmakers have until March 5 to act.
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3:30 p.m.
Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer says he’s encouraged by what he heard from President Donald Trump at a bipartisan White House meeting on immigration.
Schumer said Tuesday that the Republican president’s “tone was very good” and that it was “encouraging that the president seems open to a narrow deal” to protect immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Such “Dreamers” are the top priority for Democrats such as Schumer.
Schumer says the meeting “boded well,” but Trump needs to follow up.
Other issues such as beefing up security at the U.S.-Mexico border are also part of these talks, and Schumer warned that “the devil lies in the details.”
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12:55 p.m.
President Donald Trump is suggesting that an immigration deal could be tackled in two phases – first by taking care of the so-called Dreamers and border security, then by making comprehensive reforms to the immigration system.
Trump on Tuesday held a lengthy meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on immigration.
The president says he would need construction of a border security wall as part of an agreement involving young immigrants, but he says Congress could then pursue a comprehensive immigration overhaul in the second phase.
During a wide-ranging conversation with lawmakers, Trump stressed he needs funding for a border wall and changes to the immigration system.
He has said those are necessary for a deal to protect hundreds of thousands of young people who had been shielded from deportation.
President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with lawmakers on immigration policy in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with lawmakers on immigration policy, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Washington. From left, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Trump, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump speaks with Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., during a meeting with lawmakers on immigration policy, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with lawmakers on immigration policy in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Washington. From left, Trump, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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