NATIONWIDE - For millions of undocumented immigrants, the time for lawmakers to find a solution for DACA is running out.
“We’re looking at one crisis that’s been created by the White House, which was that of ending DACA, one that needs to be addressed immediately given the deadline that the president imposed,” says Mario Carillo of America's Voice.
Party leaders say getting a result means reaching a compromise.
“It won’t be—if we pass something—everything that either Democrats want or everything that Republicans want, but it may get the job done for the DREAMers,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
President Donald Trump has thrown his support behind a bill introduced by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley. For immigrant rights advocates, that bill is a nonstarter for its tough language on family reunification.
“That is how so many people made it to this country in the first place and that’s something that has made this country what it is today,” says Carillo.
Conservatives say the Grassley bill provides a major concession in the form of pathway to citizenship.
“The issue of pathway for citizenship for DREAMers is something that the vast majority of Americans support, including Republicans. So I think that in and of itself it is not a concession; it’s the bare minimum,” says Carillo.
For their part, conservatives say any bill moving forward will have to get support from both chambers and the White House.
“The president has spelled out a fair and generous framework that will be necessary to earn his signature,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Not doing anything, some say, will create yet another crisis.
“If he (President Trump) refuses to sign it because it doesn’t have his other nativist policies then he’ll be responsible for the deportation of DREAMers that will happen after that,” says Carillo.