In an impromptu discussion with reporters, Trump emphasized that his support of a citizenship path for about 690,000 immigrants would be contingent on securing $25 billion for a wall on the southwest border with Mexico and $5 billion for additional border upgrades. The White House is expected to release an immigration “framework” early next week in a effort to jump-start stalled immigration talks on Capitol Hill. Under his forthcoming immigration plan, which will be released Monday, Trump told reporters that protections for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program would "morph into" citizenship over that period. "We’re going to morph into it," Trump said of citizenship. It’s going to happen, at some point in the future, over a period of 10 to 12 years," he said. Lawmakers face a Feb. 8 deadline for a must-pass spending bill to keep the government open, but Democrats and some Republicans have said they will not support a long-term deal that does not address the future of the DACA program. During the discussion with reporters, Trump joked to Chief of Staff John F. Kelly that he hoped to have a deal by the time he got back from a two-day trip to Davos, Switzerland, for an economic forum. The official added the offer only applies to the nearly 690,000 immigrants who benefit from the Obama-era DACA program that Trump cancelled last fall. White House officials said it would be left to Congress to negotiate over expanding protections beyond the DACA recipients. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who drafted the bipartisan immigration plan along with Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) that Trump rejected last week, welcomed Trump's statement Wednesday as a sign of "presidential leadership on immigration."  President Trump Donald John TrumpEx-CIA chief Brennan compares Trump to Bernie Madoff Timeline: The controversies of Scott Pruitt Warren: Trump should have fired Pruitt ‘28 scandals ago’ MORE on Wednesday said he is open to offering young immigrants a pathway to citizenship over 10-12 years, as long as he gets billions of dollars to pay for a border wall and other security measures. "With this strong statement by President Trump, I have never felt better about our chances of finding a solution on immigration." Earlier Wednesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the new White House immigration plan “represents a compromise that members of both parties can support. A bipartisan group in the Senate led by Durbin and Graham presented a proposal to Trump last week that attempted to address his concerns. The president also rejected a last-minute offer from Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who reportedly offered $25 billion for border security and the wall.
– President Trump says he wants Congress to have a deal on immigration and the border ready by the time he returns from the Davos forum in Switzerland—and he says he is open to the deal including a path for citizenship for DACA recipients. "We're going to morph into it," Trump said of citizenship for the Dreamers on Wednesday, per the Washington Post. "It’s going to happen—over a period of 10 to 12 years. If somebody's done a great job and worked hard, it keeps the incentive to do a great job," he said. "I think it's a nice thing to have the incentive, after a period of years, of being able to become a citizen." Trump stressed, however, that the deal for roughly 700,000 Dreamers would depend on securing $25 billion to build a border wall and $5 billion for other immigration-related spending. He said reporters could tell Dreamers they had "nothing to worry about." The proposal Trump outlined sounds similar to one that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said was "off the table" after the shutdown ended, the Hill notes. GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has been pushing for a bipartisan deal—and using the hashtag #TrumpDreamers—called Trump's remarks a "breakthrough." "I truly appreciate President Trump making it clear that he supports a path to citizenship for DACA recipients," said Graham, whose own proposals have been called "unacceptable" by the White House. Advocates for restricting immigration say they could support a pathway to citizenship, depending on how many people it applies to and whether it is combined with other measures to limit immigration, the Los Angeles Times reports.