The ‘common sense’ group of Senators who helped to end last week’s government shutdown will meet again this week to consider the immigration proposal from President Donald Trump and give recommendations, according to Senator Susan Collins.
Moderate Maine Republican, Collins, has become the unofficial leader of the bipartisan coalition of 26 Senators. She said the goal of the group is to help the millions of undocumented youths who came to the US as minors, known as ‘Dreamers’, and to agree to the President’s demands for increased security on the US border. Collins told the State of the Union show on CNN on Sunday that all involved realize the necessity of compromise.
The group intends to make its recommendations to the leaders of the border security and immigration subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Illinois Democrat, Dick Durbin and Texas Republican, John Cornyn. Collins said that they hope to find a way to move forward. The plan proposed by Trump would offer protection from deportation and a path to full US citizenship to as many as 1.8 million Dreamers, in exchange for actions on immigration, including extra port and border security and $25 billion in funds to construct a wall on the border between the US and Mexico.
West Virginia Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin, told CNN that the Senators would meet to try and find common ground on Monday night, working from the template provided by the President.