Wednesday morning, Todd Schulte stood before a podium, dressed in a grey suit and orange tie, to talk about the urgent need for legislation that protects undocumented people who came to the United States as children, also known as Dreamers. Since Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the Trump administration's intention to rescind an Obama-era protection for Dreamers called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, immigration advocates like Schulte have rushed to get such legislation passed.

Wednesday's speech was hardly the first time Schulte has given such a talk. As president of the tech-backed immigration advocacy group FWD.us, he has helped lead Silicon Valley's idealistic drive to pass immigration reform since 2013. But this time around, standing inside the Chamber of Commerce building in Washington DC, Schulte, a former Democratic political operative, knew he was pleading the case for Dreamers to a much broader—and more receptive—audience than ever before.

"There are not that many issues in life when 85 percent of the American public agrees, when 91 percent of Democrats agree, when 84 percent of Independents agree, and when 80 percent of Republicans agree," Schulte said. "And that's just a Fox News poll."

Such bipartisan consensus would normally be seen as a blessing in our politically polarized times. And yet, the broader the movement grows, the more divided it becomes.

Unlikely Allies

It's true that the Trump administration's ultimatum to Congress—legalize DACA, or else---has helped form a big tent over the heads of Dreamers. Roughly 800 business leaders signed a letter urging Congress to pass a Dream Act, which would grant Dreamers permanent residency in the United States. About 40 of those businesses went to Washington Wednesday to lobby members of Congress, and 100 of them have signed on to the newly formed Coalition for the American Dream. That group, founded with the explicit purpose of lobbying for the Dream Act, has made strange bedfellows of left-leaning tech companies and ultra-conservative groups like the Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. For Schulte, who watched the comprehensive immigration reform bill die in 2013 due to conservative squeamishness, this kind of widespread support on both sides of the aisle is a sure sign of progress.

But in the rush to pass a Dream Act before the government stops renewing DACA permits on March 6, some fear that lobbyists and conservative groups may make political concessions in order to get Republican lawmakers on board. Groups like United We Dream and the California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance have emphasized the importance of a "clean" Dream Act, which protects Dreamers without funding additional border security or internal immigration enforcement. They've taken these demands not only to Republicans on Capitol Hill, but to Democratic elected officials, as well.

In September, activists from California Immigrant Youth Alliance interrupted a Nancy Pelosi press conference, shouting, "We are not your bargaining chip," in response to her having announced a DACA agreement with President Trump. Meanwhile, Buzzfeed News recently reported that LULAC, a leading Hispanic organization, has lost staff recently due to the group's decision to work with the Trump administration.

Real Stakes

For undocumented people at the center of this fight, all the realpolitik bargaining in Washington will have personal repercussions. "We're asking them not to implement policies that are going to go against our families," says Juan Guzman, an organizer with United We Dream, who is, himself, undocumented. "That is the main ask: Don't come to my house and use my information so you can go after my mom and my dad."

That tension hasn't gone unappreciated by conservative members of the movement. "These are the people for whom the details really do matter, and we ought to listen to their voice as they tell us in real terms the impact that various proposals would have on them," says Neil Bradley chief policy officer at the Chamber of Commerce. And yet, he says, "We can't fail to act because we’re going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good."