Story highlights "We need to do the right thing," Curbelo said

Trump has attempted to tread carefully on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program

(CNN) Congress needs to pass legislation that grants American citizenship to undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children, a Republican lawmaker said Friday.

"We need to do the right thing. We need to put partisanship aside, just like we need to do in health care, and do right by these young people who, in my opinion, are already Americans. We just need to recognize it," Rep. Carlos Curbelo told CNN's Chris Cuomo on "New Day."

The Florida lawmaker said there's "a growing consensus" inside the Republican Party in support of granting the immigrants, known as "Dreamers," citizenship.

"Three-, 4-, 5-year old children brought across the border did not break any law. Many of these kids only speak English. A lot of them don't even remember their countries of origin because they were so young when they came," Curbelo said.

President Donald Trump has attempted to tread carefully on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, walking a line between Republicans who want the program cut entirely and the political and practical impact of eliminating protections for undocumented immigrants.

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