President Donald Trump met with Democratic leaders on Thursday to discuss a possible deal to protect the undocumented immigrants known as “Dreamers.”   

These immigrants, brought to the United States at a young age, are currently protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA, a program passed under the Obama Administration back in 2012. President Trump’s meeting with Democratic leaders Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Nancy Pelosi was a step forward in reaching a deal on the future of DACA. The president said he could support the protection of these 800,000 immigrants if the law was coupled with an increase in border security.  According to democrats, this enhanced border security does not mean the wall Trump wants to build along the border of Mexico and the United States.  

  The tentative deal did not bode well with some Congress Republicans.  According to The New York Times, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called the meeting “a discussion, not an agreement or a negotiation,” while Representative Dave Brat (R-Va) said that any protection for undocumented immigrants “will lead to a huge inflow.” Despite the harsh words from some Republicans, Alanna Tran (12) believes that “Trump’s plan could potentially have bipartisan support; the Republicans just have to realize that Trump is not betraying his campaign by making deals with democrats, but that he is trying to bridge the partisan gap.” However, she thinks that meeting with only democratic leaders might not be the best way to approach the situation. Some House Democrats also had criticism for the possible deal, saying that it would allow Trump to get away with increased border security when the focus should be on DACA.  

  Despite this news of possible bipartisan support for the Dreamers, some states and groups have already taken matters into their own hands. Following Trump’s statement on September 5th that moved to end DACA and urged Congress to come up with an alternative before six months, fifteen states and the University of California have filed lawsuits against Trump in the hopes of protecting the young immigrants from deportation.  Most recently, the state of California filed a separate lawsuit against Trump’s decision to end DACA, and Governor Jerry Brown said that the state would set aside $30 million to help the 200,000 Dreamers who currently reside in California.  According to The LA Times, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said that Obama’s protection for DACA is “fully lawful, it’s totally American in its values and it’s an unmitigated success for California’s economy and the country’s economy.”