Trump says Republican senators are ready to grant citizenship to Dreamers

President demands funds for wall on Mexican border in return

Donald Trump says he wants a deal granting young undocumented migrants citizenship (CNBC )

Donald Trump says he believes hard-line Republican senators are willing to "shift" their position and grant citizenship to Dreamers - undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children.

The President told CNBC News he was hopeful of making a deal with Democrats that would involve funds for his proposed wall on the Mexican border.

He said Republican senators Tom Cotton, John Cornyn and David Perdue and Representative Bob Goodlatte would be willing to change some of their positions on immigration.

"They've really shifted a lot, and I think they're willing to shift more, and so am I," he told CNBC from the World Economic Forum in Davos. "We're going to see. If we make the right deal. I think they will."

"These are people that have very strong opinions on DACA (the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program) and on immigration generally. And I happen to think they're largely right," he said.

On Thursday, the White House presented an immigration reform plan to Congress that would include a pathway to citizenship for as many as 1.8 million Dreamers in exchange for a dramatic increase in restrictions for immigration and $25 billion to fund the border wall.

A senior White House official reportedly outlined a one-page framework to Republican staffers on Capitol Hill.

The official called the new plan “a compromise position that we believe… will get 60 votes in the Senate” and was “a framework that ultimately will lead to passage of a law,” according to multiple reports.

Describing Dreamers as "good people", Mr Trump went on to attack former president Barack Obama for failing to solve the long-standing issue.

"It should have been solved by President Obama, it would have been easier to solve, especially when he had the House and the Senate," he said.

Mr Trump added: "He didn't solve things."