Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., expressed optimism Tuesday over immigration talks after President Trump’s meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers at the White House earlier in the day.
According to Schumer, the 55-minute meeting was a step in the right direction, saying it was encouraging for future negotiations.
"I was encouraged by what the president said at the White House today," Schumer told reporters at his weekly press conference. "The tone was very good, but the devil lies in the details, and we need the president to follow up on this meeting, which boded well."
"It's encouraging that the president seems open to a narrow deal protecting the Dreamers, and to tackle some of the more difficult issues down the road as part of a separate comprehensive immigration reform bill," Schumer said. "That's a plan we agree with."
Schumer said he is "confident" the two sides can come to agreement on border security to strike a deal. However, he is insisting a legislative fix for Dreamers be including in the spending deal to avoid a partial government shutdown on Jan. 19, when government funding expires. He pressed that he doesn't believe that a bill will pass on its own and that a must-pass vehicle is the only way it will become law.
"It must go in a must-pass bill, and the only must-bill that we see coming down the road between now and March 5 is this bill," Schumer said. "We expect it to be in the bill."
"We have very little faith that if it's not in a must-pass bill it'll ever pass," Schumer said, pointing to issues in the Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and his inability to pass an immigration measure of this kind through the House.
