Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he needs four more Republican senators to support the Dream Act he sponsored with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. (Screen grab from MSNBC)

(CNSNews.com) - A total of four Republicans have signed onto the Dream Act of 2017, introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). That's four short of the eight Republican votes needed to pass the bill in the Senate.

In addition to Graham, the Republicans co-sponsoring the bill include Jeff Flake of Arizona; Lisa Murkowski of Alaska; and Cory Gardner of Colorado.

On Thursday, Sen. Durbin expressed optimism that the votes will be there: "I believe we have an opportunity now, to pass this measure in the House and the Senate," Durbin told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

The Illinois Democrat also said he thinks President Trump will help make it happen:

"We need his voice in support of a good approach, passing the Dream Act, making sure that we do it in a bipartisan fashion. You know, I really was sad and disappointed and maybe even angry with the decision this week to end DACA. I thought Attorney General Sessions' comments on this were inappropriate and really didn't reflect what the president had been saying over and over, about we love the dreamers.

"But I want to say, next to the sadness I feel for these people affected -- 780,000 and their families-- the overwhelming public sentiment in America is in support of their cause, and that tells me, we have a rare opportunity. I've been at this a long time. We have a rare opportunity to pass bipartisan legislation this year.

Durbin noted that Trump, after the election, said "good things" about the young people enrolled in President Obama's deferred deportation program:

"He looked me in the eye the day of his inauguration, and said, 'We're going to take care of those kids, Senator, and I really want to stand with the president if he is willing to help us reach that goal."

Durbin said he thinks more Americans support permanent legal residency for the people who were brought to this country illegally as children:

"I think what's happened is, people have come to know that them. They've heard their stories, they've met them. They feel like these are young people that really can make us a better nation. And it's coming through on a bipartisan basis. And I think my colleagues on the Republican side are hearing that as well. We picked up another sponsor this week, we're up to four Republicans co-sponsoring the Dream Act. We need eight more.

"If we can keep all the Democrats, we can get this done. We need 60 votes in the senate. We are moving toward that goal. I want to thank Lindsey graham my colleague and my compatriot on this effort. The Republican senator from South Carolina, he has been a stalwart."

House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Wednesday that Republicans are willing to seek compromise with Democrats on the Dream Act, as long as the legislation includes border security.

Ryan said he's encouraged by the fact that President Trump gave Congress six months "to work out a consensus, to find a compromise, because these kids don't -- for the most part, don't know any other home than the United States. So I think the president was right to give us the time we need to find that compromise.

"Where does that compromise exist?" Ryan asked. "That's what we're going to spend the next months figuring out, where that compromise is. But I think it's totally reasonable and appropriate that, when you take a look at the DACA dilemma, this is a dilemma that in large part stems from the fact that it is a symptom of a larger problem. And the larger problem is that we do not have control of our borders.

"And so it's only reasonable and fitting that we also address the root cause of the problem, which is borders that are not sufficiently controlled, while we address this very real and very human problem that's right in front of us. So I think that's perfectly reasonable."