President Trump made remarks about a DACA deal with Congress at a meeting with state officials on infrastructure proposal on Monday. Trump said he wanted it separate from the budget package because he hoped "to be able to make a deal." (Trump tweet update)



"I hope the Democrats are not going to use it just as a campaign," Trump said. "You know, they’ve been talking about DACA for many years, and they haven’t produced. We started talking about DACA, and I think we’ll produce."



Trump said DACA has been talked about for many years and Democrats have not produced, but he will.











"You know, they’ve been talking about DACA for many years, and they haven’t produced," he said. "We started talking about DACA, and I think we’ll produce."



"If the Democrats want to make a deal, it’s really up to them, because we want really tremendous border security, but we have to have Democrat support for DACA, and they are starting that process today," Trump declared.



UPDATE: On Tuesday morning the president tweeted: "Negotiations on DACA have begun. Republicans want to make a deal and Democrats say they want to make a deal. Wouldn’t it be great if we could finally, after so many years, solve the DACA puzzle. This will be our last chance, there will never be another opportunity! March 5th."





PRESIDENT TRUMP: But one of the things that was very important to me with respect to the budget was DACA. I did not want DACA in the budget. I wanted DACA separate so that we could talk about it and make a deal. And I hope to be able to make a deal. I hope the Democrats are not going to use it just as a campaign. You know, they’ve been talking about DACA for many years, and they haven’t produced. We started talking about DACA, and I think we’ll produce.



But if the Democrats want to make a deal, it’s really up to them, because we want really tremendous border security, but we have to have Democrat support for DACA, and they are starting that process today. We didn’t want to have it in the big budget, because if we have it in the big budget, it’s going to get mixed up with all of the other things.



So now we have our military taken care of, and now we start very serious DACA talks today. And we are — I can tell you, speaking for the Republican Party, we would love to do DACA. We would love to get it done. We want border security and the other elements that you know about. Chain migration, you know about. The visa lottery, you know about. But we think there’s a good chance of getting DACA done if the Democrats are serious and they actually want to do it.



But they didn’t want tax cuts. They fought — we didn’t get one vote for massive tax cuts that have turned out to be unbelievably popular. And what came up — which was even a surprise to us — were, the big companies stepped up, and millions and millions of people have gotten tremendous bonuses. Nobody knew that was going to happen. That was a — that was just the beginning point.



So we didn’t get one Democrat vote — not one — for the biggest — and I think that’s a big political problem for them, if you want to know the truth. They are going around saying they made a mistake, because the tax cuts have now — you see what’s going on; it’s spurred the economy. Unemployment is at virtually record lows. Black unemployment is at the lowest level in history. Hispanic unemployment is at the lowest level in recorded history, which is really something that’s so great. And we are very, very — it’s amazing what’s been going on with the economy.

Negotiations on DACA have begun. Republicans want to make a deal and Democrats say they want to make a deal. Wouldn’t it be great if we could finally, after so many years, solve the DACA puzzle. This will be our last chance, there will never be another opportunity! March 5th. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2018

Trump's Tuesday tweet: