Republican and Democratic senators have been working furiously to find common ground and pass a bipartisan immigration bill before January 19th. There has been optimism that a deal will be reached, with one senator saying a deal has been struck. But other senators dispute his claims and say negotiations are still on-going.
Senator Jeff Flake told reporters that there is a bipartisan deal on the table. He said the deal would shield hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation. He says they are going to bring the bill to White House:
So we'll be talking to the White House about that, and I hope we can move forward with it. It's the only game in town. There's no other bill.
But Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn is refuting Flake's claim of a Dreamer's compromise saying he has not seen the deal and a spokesperson for Democratic senator Dick Durbin said talks are still on-going.
On Wednesday, President Trump hosted a bipartisan group of lawmakers at the White House to negotiate a compromise. The Democrats want to make the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program permanent and shield children who were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents from deportation. Trump has said he is open to renewing the program in exchange for border wall funding, along with an end to chain migration and lottery visa system.
Trump said he expects a compromise to be reached, and expects a bill to be ready by the end of the week.