WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats closed in on a deal to give legal status to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy said in a joint statement that, over dinner at the White House, they had agreed with Mr. Trump on the outlines of a deal to enshrine protections for these young immigrants into law “quickly” and to “work out a package of border security, excluding the wall, that’s acceptable to both sides.”
A separate White House statement called the meeting “constructive” but stopped short of announcing the framework for an agreement. After the Democrats’ statement was issued, a White House official said that no agreement was reached.
In recent days, both sides appeared to be edging toward this formulation, with Democrats agreeing to include border-security measures, and the White House signaling it would accept the immigrant protections without insisting that the legislation also include funding for the southwest border-wall package.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Trump had courted Democrats on the subject at a bipartisan meeting, and the dinner Wednesday evening was at his invitation.
Even before the agreement was announced, these overtures have conservatives worried that the president will agree to a plan without strong immigration enforcement that Republicans favor. In response to those concerns, Mr. Trump said he was hoping for a bipartisan deal and planned to continue talking.
“Some of the greatest legislation ever passed, it was done on a bipartisan manner. And so that is why we’re going to give it a shot,” he told reporters.
Even before the agreement was announced, these overtures have conservatives worried that the president will agree to a plan without strong immigration enforcement that Republicans favor. It is unclear whether GOP leaders or members of Congress will fall in line with the agreement that Democrats say was reached.
On Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Trump brushed off GOP concerns. He told reporters that he was hoping for a bipartisan deal and planned to continue talking.
Mr. Trump raised the subject of the young immigrants at a bipartisan meeting of lawmakers that had been billed as a discussion on a tax overhaul.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat who sat next to Mr. Trump during that meeting, said in an interview afterward that Mr. Trump made “clear that he is open and eager to get bipartisan legislation” to resolve the issue of these immigrants.
Other Democrats at the meeting said Mr. Trump appeared willing to consider the border wall funding separately from the discussion of the young immigrants but suggested he may want a package to include new limits on legal immigration.
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