WASHINGTON — When President-elect Donald Trump told NBC News’ Meet the Press that he is interested in making a deal with Democrats to protect Dreamers brought to the U.S. at a young age, some senators felt a whiff of déjà vu .
“We need to do something about the Dreamers because these are people who were brought here at a very young age. And many of these people are now middle-aged. They don’t even speak the language of their country,” Trump told moderator Kristen Welker. “I will work with the Democrats on a plan.”
When asked about Trump’s comments, leading Senate Republicans did not close the door on a deal but sounded a tone of skepticism about the prospects.
‘We’ll see. The good side of immigration reform has eluded us a number of times. But obviously if there is a bipartisan willingness to address this issue, I’m certainly open to what we can do,” said John Thune, the new Senate Majority Leader. “In the long run it would be better if we could come up with some legislative solutions, but over the last few governments everything has been done through executive action. So something will be needed to break that impasse.”
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who serves on the Judiciary Committee and has previously participated in immigration negotiations, was more explicit that Trump should work to break that impasse.
“I take him seriously, but he’s going to have to put his shoulder to the wheel to make it happen,” Cornyn told NBC News.
After all, Trump used similar rhetoric during his first term, but his actions told a different story. As president in 2017, he tried to end the DACA program that protected undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children from deportation. And in 2018, when Sens. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Angus King, I-Maine, struck a bipartisan deal to give Dreamers legal status while giving Trump money for his border wall, the Trump White House successfully fought to end the deal. because it also did not curtail family immigration.
Many Republicans view a path to citizenship for Dreamers as “amnesty.” But even in a country that has moved to the right on immigration, the Dreamers remain a sympathetic group.
Cornyn noted that such a bipartisan agreement would take a back seat to border security and enforcement, for which Republicans plan to provide funding in a major party bill early next year.
“I did notice that this would have to happen after we dealt with the current hemorrhage at the border,” Cornyn said. “If he puts his mind to it, I think he can probably make it happen.”
Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who sponsored the original Dream Act in 2001, said he “listened attentively” to Trump’s comments on the issue Sunday and welcomed the talks.
“My ears perked up. After 23 years, I am ready,” he said. “Anytime, anywhere – let’s sit down.”
“But there is reason to be skeptical, if not cynical,” Durbin added. “Over the past term, President-elect Trump has walked away from four different bipartisan compromises with Democrats to resolve the DACA crisis. Democrats were at one point willing to provide billions of dollars for President Trump’s unpopular border wall in exchange for a bipartisan Dream Act, but we couldn’t seem to get a positive response. …President Trump has within his power the ability to engage many Republicans on immigration.”
Durbin noted that Trump campaigned for the mass deportation of everyone in the U.S. illegally in the 2024 election and is making plans to carry it out. Trump has also called for an end to birthright citizenship, though he will face constitutional obstacles if he tries to do so. Last year, Trump successfully fought to broker a bipartisan deal to strengthen border security while campaigning on the issue.
Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said Trump is bluffing about Dreamers.
“He never did anything for Dreamers. He will never do anything for Dreamers,” he said. “This is bait, and we just shouldn’t take it.”
Still, some conservatives express general support for this population, in the absence of a specific plan to address their immigration status.
“I support Dreamers,” said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he is “certainly willing to engage” in “a rational discussion” with Democrats on immigration, but he did not sound optimistic that it would lead to anything substantive.
“The democratic position, if you get down to the essence, is actually: open the border. And for people who have already entered illegally: give them amnesty. And it is not acceptable to me,” Kennedy, who serves on the Judiciary Committee that oversees immigration policy, said in an interview.
When asked whether protecting Dreamers constitutes “amnesty,” Kennedy repeated a famous evasion from former President Bill Clinton.
“Well, it depends on what the definition is is is,” Kennedy said.
Asked what his definition of that is is When it came to amnesty, Kennedy responded, “I don’t know, I have to talk to President Clinton.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
