From [1]:

...At a Senate hearing, Republican Senator John Kennedy asked Homeland Security official Michael Dougherty about Dreamers. “Should they be allowed to stay?"

“Under a rational bill these individuals would be able to become lawful permanent residents with a pathway to citizenship," Dougherty, assistant Department of Homeland Security secretary for border, immigration and trade policy, responded.

“So the president believes they should be allowed to stay," Kennedy responded.

“The president, yes, would like to work with Congress to get a solution," Dougherty said, declining to give further specifics on conditions under which Dreamers should be allowed to stay in the country.

Hours later, DHS moved to distance the administration from Dougherty's testimony.

“Mr. Dougherty was not stating administration policy or the President's views," said Tyler Q. Houlton, the DHS deputy press secretary. “The White House will be issuing its priorities for immigration reform in the coming week."...

Houlton (@tqhoulton) is a former Director of Federal Affairs for the Koch family's Americans for Prosperity and the Kochs support loose borders. So, expect Houlton to agree with Dougherty even if they think it'd be best to hide their true motives as long as possible.

There's also no effective difference between just legalizing DREAMers and putting them on the citizenship path right away: the same forces that will have succeeded at legalizing DREAMers will succeed at giving them citizenship. The only real question is how long it would take for DREAMers to get their full-on amnesty.

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[1] reuters · com/article/us-usa-immigration-senate/trump-administration-backpedals-on-citizenship-for-dreamers-idUSKCN1C82DV