NATIONWIDE - The clock is counting down for lawmakers as immigration rights advocates continue their pleas for a "clean DREAM Act" to continue protections for young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children.

That's essentially what President Donald Trump hinted at wanting to see when he rescinded former President Barack Obama's executive order on Sept. 5, 2017. Since then, the president's gone back and forth on saying he wants funding for a border wall, ending family reunification and the visa lottery in exchange for a DACA deal.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, and Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, are the latest lawmakers proposing a bipartisan immigration measure.

In a tweet Monday, Trump called the measure a "total waste of time." It would have bolstered border security by 2020, but it did not explicitly lay out money for a border wall. The bill was silent on family reunification, which Trump has called chain migration.

An Austin immigration attorney said Congress might be running out of time.

"We have been trying to get an immigration overhaul for decades," Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said. "Trying to get that done in one month because we also want DACA at the same time is unreasonable."

Lincoln-Goldfinch is telling her clients to send in DACA renewal applications now - even if they're not due anytime soon. That could at least buy them another two years of protection in the event the political impasse continues.

"Take this window of opportunity and apply for your renewal - even if you expire next month or next year," she said.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is Majority Whip. He told his colleagues on Monday disaster relief is "another thing that's been held hostage to this unrelated immigration issue" while speaking from the Senate floor.

"The question for today is why hold everything else hostage for this unrelated immigration issue," he said. "They have indicated that they have little interest in negotiating. The deadline for negotiating is February 8."

That also happens to be the day lawmakers must pass a continuing resolution to keep the federal government operating and avoid another shutdown.