Border security could be key to saving DREAMers

Democrats and Republicans scrambling to protect Dreamers before a March deadline will almost certainly have to swallow tougher immigration measures in return.

GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill, from the top tiers of leadership down to key rank-and-file, are quickly coalescing around pairing a measure that codifies the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program into law with some modest security and enforcement measures.

And Democrats are willing to deal.

This means that President Donald Trump’s desire to construct a 2,000-mile border wall and slash legal immigration limits are all but off the table. Ditto measures, at least for Democrats, that would put other undocumented immigrants, such as the parents of Dreamers, more at risk of deportation. But other, more modest measures are in play.