House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said on Sunday that lawmakers are getting “very close” in reaching agreement following talks about how to legislatively respond to the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Meadows told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that even some of the most conservative immigration bills include a pathway to citizenship for the so-called “Dreamers.”
“I think even in some of the more conservative bills that have been talked about there is the ability to become citizens. And so that’s the narrative that’s not really out there,” Meadows said. “Making sure that those DACA recipients do not have to face deportation and that ultimately they can become citizens.”
“Now the debate becomes should there be a special pathway. Should they go to the back of the line, the front of the line?” he added. “The most important thing is to secure our borders so we don’t have to deal with this problem a decade from now. I think that’s where we’re well on our way.”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in September that former President Barack Obama’s 2012 executive order that created DACA would be wound down by March 5. But multiple lawsuits have blocked the administration from following through, and for now the program is still open and current applicants can re-apply for two-year renewals of work authorization and legal protection documents.
Meadows also echoed Trump’s statement Saturday that the policy of breaking up families at the border was “horrible” and said he and his ultra-conservative colleagues are working with moderate Republicans and across the aisle to move on.
Trump’s change to the policy earlier this month was intended to spur legislative action.
