Trump, lawmakers outline tentative DACA deal

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers at the White House Tuesday afternoon, where they outlined three immigration issues to tackle along with a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. “During the closed-door portion of the meeting, they reached an agreement to negotiate legislation that accomplishes critically needed reforms in four high-priority areas: border security, chain migration, the visa lottery, and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. Negotiations are ongoing, but lawmakers believe they now have the parameters to write an immigration bill the president will sign. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., suggested Congress pass a solution to provide relief for the nearly 800,000 DACA recipients now with a commitment to come back to other immigration issues later. Trump insisted a DACA bill must include a boost to border security. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., agreed with the president, saying a DACA-only solution is not sufficient. McConnell committed to bringing forward an immigration bill that’s separate from the government spending package, likely to avoid a government shutdown. The DACA program expires March 5 and thousands of immigrants risk losing their legal status without congressional action.