The Hill: Republicans Discuss DACA Citizenship 'Bridge'

Republican lawmakers met on Capitol Hill on Wednesday night and discussed providing a "bridge" to DACA recipients for becoming full U.S. citizens.

The Hill reported on the meeting, which took place ahead of a Thursday meeting on immigration that will be attended by members of the Republican conference.

"The big concern for most conservatives has been the special pathway" to citizenship, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., told The Hill.

"We had good discussions on how you take a DACA population and make sure they don't have to face deportations, but also ultimately how do they get a bridge into a legal immigration system."

Reps. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, and Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., told The Hill that lawmakers are trying to craft a "bridge," rather than a special pathway, to citizenship for the several hundred thousand people who have benefited from DACA. The program allowed people who illegally came to the U.S. as children with their parents to stay here under certain conditions.

DACA was due to end in March, but it is tied up in the court system and is still valid.

President Donald Trump instructed the House and Senate last fall to come up with a permanent solution of how to deal with DACA recipients. No legislation has been passed thus far, and Trump blamed Democrats for that.

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