Congressman Peter Welch says he's pleased that President Trump is supporting Democratic efforts to protect young immigrants from being deported.
These are cases where the children were brought into the United States illegally by their undocumented parents.
Welch was part of a bipartisan group of lawmakers who discussed the issue with President Trump at the White House on Wednesday afternoon.
The president also wants the legislation to strengthen security measures along the Mexican border, and he says he's willing to delay his plan to build a wall along the border.
But Welch says the immigration plan and the security issues need to be considered separately.
"They aren’t linked and they shouldn’t be linked,” says Welch. “There’s an independent case to be made for these people who are innocent and they’re contributing and we should not be holding them hostage to political points of view about what border security matters should be done."
Welch says he's convinced that a stand-alone bill protecting the young immigrants would pass the House if GOP leaders allowed the legislation to come to the House floor for a vote.
