Lawmakers should be working on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) issue in a bipartisan manner, Rep. Leonard Lance said Thursday, and he was not surprised to hear President Donald Trump say this week that he's open for a pathway to citizenship for the nation's "Dreamers."
"There's obviously a debate in the Republican caucus on this," Lance told CNN's "New Day." "I favor addressing the Dreamers and also addressing border security, and I think that that can occur at the same time."
A compromise must happen so the legislation can reach Trump's desk, Lance continued, but meanwhile, "the president has put forth a proposal yesterday at his press conference and I'm willing to examine it."
Lance said that a $25 billion price tag that's been mentioned for a border wall is a "high figure."
"That is a negotiating strategy," he siad. "That will be part of the negotiations. I do favor greater border security, including drones and perhaps more agents."
However, he said he does not believe there needs to be a wall in all places along the southern border, because the terrain, such as in southern Arizona, often provides a natural barrier.
Lance said also thinks Trump will pull back from his call for a more solid wall structure, as he imagines that's another negotiating strategy.
"But we certainly need greater border security, because when the last leg was passed the promise was made to greater border security," said Lance. "That path didn't occur. We don't want to go through this 20 years from now."
Meanwhile, Lance said he believes a memo that purportedly shows the FBI misusing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to spy on the Trump campaign should be made public.
"I'm not able to discuss what's in the memo because it is classified, but I would hope that it could be made public," said Lance. "If there is a Democratic memo, as I understand there is, that should be made public as well."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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