President Trump Wednesday expressed optimism about reaching a bipartisan deal on immigration, suggesting he is even open to granting citizenship to Dreamers after a 10- to 12-year period as part of a comprehensive plan.
He also told ABC News' Jonathan Karl that -- if a deal is in sight -- he is open to extending the March 5 deadline for ending the DACA program that protects some 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. He said DACA recipients shouldn't worry.
"Tell them not to be concerned. Tell them not to worry, we’re going to solve the problem," he told reporters at an impromptu White House news conference.
Asked about citizenship, Trump said, "We’re going to morph into it. It's going to happen."
"Over a period of 10 to 12 years if someone does a great job, they’ve worked hard, it gives incentive to do a great job. If they’ve worked hard they've done terrifically, whether they have a little company, or whether they’ve worked, whatever they’re doing, if they do a great job I think it’s a nice thing to have the incentive of after a period of years being able to be a citizen," Trump said.
Trump's comments came after the White House, earlier in the day, announced it would release its own plan for a compromise on immigration policy Monday that it said both Democrats and Republicans could support and would end the debate that led to last weekend's government shutdown.
The move comes after members of Congress on both sides have criticized the president for not being clear about what he wants in an immigration deal.
Senators uncertain of what's next for immigration reform