Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate are suddenly pushing for a quick legislative fix to end the practice of separating parents from children when they cross illegally into the country, outside of efforts to pass a broader bill that could stall in the Senate.

The new effort comes after several days of growing public pressure on lawmakers to change the law so the Trump administration can continue to prosecute illegal immigrants, but without the controversial practice of holding the children of these immigrants in separate facilities.

"The consensus is we want to do something now," said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. "The sooner the better."

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, is working with other GOP senators on a bill that would allow families who enter the country illegally to remain together at immigration facilities at the border as they await adjudication. The Trump administration has said a court decision requires family separation as adults are prosecuted.

Cornyn's bill would eliminate that requirement, and speed up court hearings for people seeking admission into the country, which can take months.

“The answer to this current situation is a solution that allows us to both enforce the law and keep families together,” Cornyn said Tuesday. “They don't have to be mutually exclusive.”

Cornyn is among many GOP lawmakers seeking a quick solution to the problem, which in recent days has cast a constant and mostly negative spotlight on the Trump administration. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has said he talked to Trump about the idea, and said it could move as quickly as this week.

“It could be an amendment on a spending bill this week. It could be a standalone bill," Cotton said.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told reporters he wants to pass a bill with Democratic support, which is the only way any bill could pass in the Senate.

In the House, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., a close Trump ally, has authored a measure similar to Cornyn’s. The Meadows bill ensures minors who cross the border are not separated from a parent or legal guardian while in the custody of immigration officers. It would also “ensure the safe and expeditious return” of unaccompanied minors to their home countries unless they have a legitimate asylum claim.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he also plans to introduce a bill that would expedite the review of asylum cases and double the number of immigration judges from 375 to 750.

The rush to end child separations comes hours before President Trump is scheduled to meet with House Republicans in a closed-door Capitol meeting to discuss two different broader immigration reform plans, both of which would eliminate the requirement that children must be kept at separate facilities once they enter illegally.

The compromise plan likely to garner the most votes centers on providing a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s so-called Dreamers who came here illegally as children and it includes immigration reform and border security reforms.

But neither House bill is likely to make it through the Senate, where Democrats have the power to block legislation.