On DACA, old political fault lines – but new room for optimism
After months of wrangling over the fate of young unauthorized immigrant “Dreamers,” both Republicans and Democrats are encouraged. Thanks to a remarkable, mostly public negotiating session with President Trump on Tuesday, they have at least settled on the scope of a deal.
The urgency of the situation – the program ends in March – and the narrowness of the deal are helping to push them along. Both sides also seemed able to accept that a wall does not mean a 2,000-mile concrete barrier across the southern border. But divisions over details remain, with no guarantee that lawmakers will be able to reach a deal.
On the wall, for instance, “the problem is that both sides have been rhetorically locked into positions on things,” says Theresa Brown, immigration policy director at the Bipartisan
