Senate Democrats indicated Tuesday they may not agree to narrow legislation that would end the separation of children from parents who cross into the country illegally at the southern border.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., refused to say if he and other Democrats would support a bill that Republicans are working on, and when pressed, said several times that President Trump should act on his own to stop these family separations from happening.

"Let's hope we never get to that. Let's hope the president does the right thing and solves the problem, which he can do," Schumer said. "That's the simple, easiest and most likely way this will happen."

Schumer said Congress has long failed to pass an immigration reform bill and that Trump shouldn't wait for that result, and instead should act on his own.

"How many times has immigration legislation passed in this Congress. How many times? Zero. It's an excuse from our Republican colleagues who feel the heat, don't want to attack the president, even though they know, they know legislation will take a very long time and is unlikely to happen, and the flick of a president's pen could solve this tomorrow," Schumer said. "Makes no sense, what they're saying."

Minutes earlier, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he wants the Senate to quickly take up a GOP-sponsored bill that would keep children with parents or legal guardians.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn and Sen. Ted Cruz, both Republicans of Texas, have proposed legislation that would allow children to remain at detention centers with their parents and would speed up adjudication with the help of additional immigration judges.

Lawmakers said the measure could be attached to a spending bill up for a Senate vote this week, or it could be considered as a separate measure.

“We hope to reach out to the Democrats to see if we can get a result,” McConnell said. “Which means making a law and not get into some sparring match back and forth that leads to no conclusion.”

But Senate Democratic leaders say they won’t go along with the approach.