美国国会将如何在艰难的移民问题上找到答案，两党参议员表示了不同的期待。一天前，参议院答应采取行动，保护年幼移民人口，强化边境安全，才使联邦政府停摆得以结束。
来自肯塔基州共和党籍多数党领袖麦康奈尔参议员星期一说，他计划2月8号之前安排参议院讨论如何解决那些幼年来美的无证移民面临的问题。美国联邦政府只获得了维持到2月8号的资金。麦康内尔的保证说服了30多名民主党参议员投票通过了临时预算法案，结束了政府的部分关闭。
来自纽约州民主党籍少数党领袖舒默参议员说：“共和党只有16天的时间与民主党合作，让这些‘追梦者’不被递解出境，这样才能争取到通过法案所需的60张赞成票。”
川普总统已经拒绝了三名共和党参议员和三名民主党参议员谈判达成的移民法案建议。据报道，这项建议包括解决“幼年来美暂缓递解计划”保护的年轻无证移民的问题、加强边防，以及改革移民政策。川普总统在国会山的坚强盟友、来自乔治亚州的珀杜参议员说，那只不过是继续谈判的一个起点。
与此同时，舒默参议员收回了他据报在白宫与川普总统私下会谈时表示会支持为在美墨边界建造围墙的保证。
民主党人反对建边界墙，但是如果能在“幼年来美暂缓递解计划”的问题上达成协议，愿意考虑同意为建墙提供有限的拨款。而现在民主党人说，鉴于川普总统已经拒绝了解决无证年轻移民的建议，那么包括边界围墙在内的一切问题都要从头开始。
U.S. senators expressed differing expectations on Tuesday for what Congress might produce on thorny immigration topics, one day after a government shutdown ended on a promise of Senate action to protect young immigrants and boost border security.
On Monday, McConnell said he intended for the Senate to consider legislation addressing the plight of undocumented immigrants brought to America as children and other issues by Feb. 8, when U.S. government funding expires once again. The assurance convinced more than 30 Senate Democrats to join Republicans in voting to end a three-day partial federal shutdown.
“The Republican majority now has 16 days to work with us to write a bill that can get 60 votes [in the 100-member Senate] and prevent Dreamers [young immigrants] from being deported,” Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said. “The clock is ticking.”
President Donald Trump already rejected an immigration proposal negotiated by three Republican and three Democratic senators that reportedly included a legislative fix for recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals [DACA], enhanced border security and reforms to legal immigration. A top Trump ally on Capitol Hill, Republican Sen. David Perdue of Georgia, dismissed the deal as a starting point for negotiations going forward.
Schumer, meanwhile, retracted a tentative offer on border wall funding he reportedly made to the president in private talks at the White House last week.
Democrats opposed the wall but expressed willingness to back limited funding for physical barrier construction in order to reach a deal on DACA recipients. Given the president’s rejection of that deal, Democrats said negotiations must start from scratch on all items, including the border wall.