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WASHINGTON President Donald Trump sees himself as a masterful dealmaker, and he has begun signaling that he believes he can land perhaps the thorniest of transactions in Washington: immigration reform.

Trump sparked a flurry of speculation when he privately told television anchors over lunch this week that he could support a compromise that allowed people with no criminal record to stay in the country and work and pay taxes.

Hours later, Trump made a last-minute addition to his high-profile speech before Congress, calling for an immigration overhaul that improves wages and increases security.

Real and positive immigration reform is possible, he said. ... If we are guided by the well-being of American citizens, then I believe Republicans and Democrats can work together to achieve an outcome that has eluded our country for decades.

But immigration experts are skeptical Trump has the attention span or the desire to pass a sweeping immigration overhaul, a deeply complicated undertaking that has failed twice in Washington in the last decade and would represent an about-face from Trumps hard-line campaign stance against illegal immigration and crackdown on migrants since he took office.

Trumps actions in his first month in office set his administration on a path toward a harsh deportation program that is already sweeping up many of the same people that an immigration reform package would protect from removal.

Politically, Trump has little room to maneuver. Over the last 20 months, Trump propelled himself first to the Republican nomination for president and then to the White House by railing against illegal immigration, and he would face an uproar from his base if he signed a bill that created a pathway to citizenship for people in the country illegally.

He also would face unhappy Republican leaders in Congress, who are focused on big-ticket proposals on health care and tax reform, an agenda that could be derailed by a protracted debate over immigration.

Nevertheless, Trump told news anchors in the White House that the time is right for an immigration bill and that positions on both sides need to be softened, according to a White House official present for the discussion.

The remark may have been mostly a reflection of Trumps penchant for playing to his audience in this case, journalists demanding answers about whether he can work with Congress on top policy issues.

Trump has expressed a willingness to ease his stance on immigration before. He told senators as recently as two weeks ago that they should revive a 2013 proposal that passed in the Senate but died in the House.

And in a news conference last month, Trump wavered when asked whether he will end President Barack Obamas Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shields from deportation some young people who were brought illegally to the U.S. as children.

The DACA situation is a very, very its a very difficult thing for me because, you know, I love these kids, I love kids, I have kids and grandkids. And I find it very, very hard doing what the law says exactly to do and, you know, the law is rough, Trump said.

In addition, despite his campaign promise to end the Obama-era program that gives work permits to those young people, known as Dreamers, Trump has allowed his administration to continue to issue them.

Top aides, however, have identified ways to end the program without Trumps fingerprints, including through legal guidance issued by the departments of Homeland Security or Justice or through a lawsuit brought by states that the administration could decline to defend.

Immigration advocates, skeptical that Trumps comment to news anchors presaged a shift in his hard-line approach, acknowledged he could use his negotiating powers to bring about a deal.

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Trump sees immigration reform as the ultimate deal - The Recorder

President Donald Trump says hes open to a large-scale immigration reform bill if Republicans and Democrats can reach a compromise. But he forgot the biggest obstacle to a deal: his own policies and the revulsion theyve already fueled among Democrats.

Trump stormed into the White House with a vow to crack down on undocumented immigrants, and promptly followed through alienating advocates of a more generous immigration policy. Not only will Trump struggle to persuade Democrats to come to the table, its not even clear theyre in the same room.

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If hes serious, he should give us evidence and say, Im going to stop the deportations, said Rep. Luis Gutirrez, a key player in past immigration reform efforts. The Illinois Democrat said Trump needs to stand up to his hard line immigration brain trust Attorney General Jeff Sessions, chief strategist Steve Bannon and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach whom Gutierrez called the three principal heads of xenophobia.

Even Trump's critics were caught off guard by how quickly he moved to implement sweeping campaign promises, including the executive orders to build a wall on the southern border; to greatly broaden the pool of people likely to be deported; temporarily restrict citizens of several majority-Muslim nations from entering the U.S.; and suspend the refugee resettlement program.

Hints of a policy shift emerged on Tuesday afternoon, when the president told television news anchors in a closed-door luncheon that the time is right for an immigration reform bill and expressed openness to legal status for undocumented immigrants. He even suggested he would back giving a pathway to citizenship to so-called Dreamers, who came to the U.S. as children.

Not everyone was convinced.

Mark my words: This is going to be walked back, were going to see no plan at all, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a leading voice on immigration policy within the Democratic Party, told MSNBCs Morning Joe.

In his first joint address to Congress Tuesday night, Trump made no mention of such a proposal. Instead, he warned that the U.S. could become a sanctuary for extremists and spoke more about criminal immigrants than the vast, law-abiding majority. Bad ones are going out as I speak tonight, he said.

In one reference that elicited groans from congressional Democrats, the president touted the creation of a new office within Homeland Security to support victims of crimes by deportable immigrants. He called the new office, dubbed VOICE, a place to turn for people silenced by special interests.

Even his vision of immigration reform suggested a move to restrict legal immigration or at least reduce the number of lower-skilled immigrants and adopt a merit-based system that would prize skills over family connections.

The result nullified whatever goodwill he might have engendered among Democrats with his more centrist comments earlier in the day.

On the Senate floor Wednesday, Schumer portrayed Trumps immigration reform comments to news anchors as an aberration and the harsher speech to Congress as a better measure of his stance on the issue.

It was so funny he spoke to a bunch of cosmopolitan news anchors and mentioned maybe he will change his views on immigration and the media got into a buzz about that, Schumer said. The speech he gave was one of the most anti-immigrant speeches that we heard any president ever give. Schumer added Trump was saying one thing, doing another.

The Trump administration maintains its early actions around immigration have been reasonable and clearly laid out. White House spokesman Michael Short said the administration is focused on enforcing immigration laws, securing the border and removing criminals in the country illegally. The president has been clear about what his priorities are right now, Short said in an email. If Congress were to begin crafting legislation, hed be willing to listen and engage with them.

Immigrant rights groups have already assumed a vehemently anti-Trump posture that makes it difficult to imagine them supporting any kind of legislative effort attached to his name.

His whole worldview is just crushing the lives of immigrants, said Lynn Tramonte, deputy director of Americas Voice, a liberal group in favor of immigration reform. So the idea that there would be some compromise on legislation with him, its just so far from where we are today.

Tramonte sees the presidents talk of a merit-based immigration system as a euphemism for slashing future levels of immigration. Indeed, a bill introduced last month by Trump ally Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) would do just that cutting the levels of legal immigration in half over a decade.

Who engineers the criteria for somebody to qualify for this new merit-based system? Tramonte asked. If its people who dont like immigrants, theyre going to make it as narrow as possible.

The president could find a friendlier reception from business groups, which have been more supportive of his broader policy agenda. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, for instance, has refrained from criticizing the administrations tough enforcement policies, even though it has extolled the economic virtues of immigration in the past.

In the view of Randy Johnson, a senior vice president at the Chamber, Trumps desire to move to a merit-based immigration system shows hes open to broader reform. You cant do merit-based immigration reform [by] just changing two or three words in the code, he said.

Trumps immigration overtures have played better with Republicans, too. Still, theyll also come with their own list of demands to include in any legislation, from new visas for temporary workers to citizenship for certain undocumented immigrants.

Few know the challenges to gathering consensus on immigration as well as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who has worked to rally his party toward a reform bill for more than a decade. I think it opens a window of opportunity that perhaps we can all work together, he said of Trumps comments in an interview.

McCain, however, thinks citizenship and not just legalization for undocumented immigrants should be part of any legislative effort. Trump reportedly said Tuesday that he would oppose a pathway to citizenship for most of the countrys 11 million undocumented immigrants.

Suppose when the Irish came, McCain asked, should we have said you can come but you can never be citizens? Cmon Why would you want to have someone permanently reside in the United States without an opportunity to work their way through citizenship?

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who worked with McCain and Schumer on a bipartisan immigration reform effort in 2013, said Trump would need to support the principles in that bill to get any traction in the Senate.

If hes willing to embrace a logical solution for the 11 million that allows legal status, a pathway to citizenship for some, after they pass criminal background checks, requirements to learn English and pay a fine, then bill will pass, Graham said. If he doesnt, it wont pass.

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Democrats dismiss Trump's immigration reform talk - Politico

President Trump revealed the conditions under which he could support immigration reform, which would be a remarkable policy shift just as the White House prepares to put out a revised travel ban.

There was a little-noticed line in Trumps speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.

I believe that real and positive immigration reform is possible, Trump said at Tuesdays address, indicating he could be game for some sort of plan that would be less severe toward illegal immigrants than what his prior rhetoric had suggested.

But, he insisted, goals would need to be met before discussions of immigration reform could be enacted: To improve jobs and wages for Americans; to strengthen our nations security; and to restore respect for our laws.

Meanwhile the White House also postponed a planned executive-order signing Wednesday which would have reinstituted the travel ban.

Trumps first travel ban, which temporarily blocked travel of citizens from seven mostly Muslim countries to America, was blocked by a federal court.

White House officials are still continuing to debate the particulars of the new ban. There is reportedly a rift over whether to exclude Iraq.

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Trump lays out 'goals' for immigration reform - New York Post

Sen. Marco Rubio has said that immigration reform is "difficult but...possible."

The Florida lawmaker made the comments on FOX News Wednesday, the day after President Trump gave an address which mentioned the issue several times.

During his interview, Rubio outlined a three-step approach which involves enforcing current laws, modernizing the criteria for determining who stays, and developing a plan for long-time, non-threatening residents.

RELATED: Protests erupt throughout US cities over Trump immigration ban

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Protests erupt throughout US cities over Trump immigration ban

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Demonstrators gather in Copley Square for the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

An international traveler smiles as she walks past the protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Laura Buckman

Demonstrators yell slogans during protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Ted Soqui

Sarah Ijaz joins the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

BOSTON - JANUARY 29: People hold signs as they march from Copley Square to the Mass. State House in Boston on Jan. 29, 2017, to protest President Donald Trump's executive order banning people from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Muslim women pray during the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" protesting U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

People gather to pray in baggage claim during a protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Laura Buckman

Eight year-old Esma, an Irish-Moroccan-American, prays with other Muslim women during the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" protesting U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Demonstrators spell out "# No Muslim Ban" during the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Izzy Berdan (R) joins the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Muslim women pray during the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" protesting U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Muslim women pray during the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" protesting U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Demonstrators gather in Copley Square for the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

An activist holds a sign outside the White House to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

Activists gather outside the White House to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

Activists gather outside the White House to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

Activists gather outside the White House to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

Samah Mansur, from Egypt, takes part in the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Activists gather outside the White House to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

People gather to protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, U.S., January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Laura Buckman

BOSTON - JANUARY 29: People hold signs as they gather in Copley Square in Boston on Jan. 29, 2017, to protest President Donald Trump's executive order banning people from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

BOSTON - JANUARY 29: People gather in Copley Square in Boston on Jan. 29, 2017, to protest President Donald Trump's executive order banning people from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

UNITED STATES - JANUARY 29: Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., speaks with an ACLU legal observer during the protest at Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. Protests erupted at airports around the country following President Trump's executive order restricting travel from several Islamic countries. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 29: A protester holds up a sign that reads, 'Banning Immigrants is UnAmerican!,' as she stands with others at the Miami International Airport against the executive order that President Donald Trump signed clamping down on refugee admissions and temporarily restricting travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries on January 29, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Demonstrators gathered at airports across the country in protest of the order. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 29: Protesters stand together at the Miami International Airport against the executive order that President Donald Trump signed clamping down on refugee admissions and temporarily restricting travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries on January 29, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Demonstrators gathered at airports across the country in protest of the order. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 29: Susan Barimo joins with other protesters as they stand together at the Miami International Airport against the executive order that President Donald Trump signed clamping down on refugee admissions and temporarily restricting travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries on January 29, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Demonstrators gathered at airports across the country in protest of the order. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

People gather outside Terminal 4 during a protest against Donald Trump's travel ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, U.S., January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

International travelers walk past protestors holding signs as they protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Laura Buckman

Protesters at Discovery Green Park during Super Bowl events in Houston, Texas, U.S., January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Trish Badger

Dozens of pro-immigration demonstrators cheer and hold sign as international passengers arrive at Dulles International Airport, to protest President Donald Trump's executive order baring visitors, refugees and immigrants from certain countries to the United States, in Chantilly, Virginia, in suburban Washington, U.S., January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Theiler

Activists march to the US Capitol to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Activists march to the US Capitol to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

Activists gather at the US Capitol to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

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He then added, "I believe if Democrats are willing to accept that direction then we can get something done. And if they continue to fight for the unrealistic, the 'let's give everybody blanket amnesty,' or 'let's give everybody citizenship,' or 'let's do it backwards,' or 'let's be against any effort to enforce the law beyond symbolic things,' then I think we're going to continue to be stuck in the cycle we've been in."

Rubio ended by saying, "...I'm hopeful...It's going to be difficult, but it is possible."

SEE ALSO: Trump candidate to head Border Patrol is under FBI investigation

President Trump, meanwhile, had advocated for a merit-based immigration system which he said "will save countless dollars, raise workers' wages and help struggling families, including immigrant families, enter the middle class."

He also announced the creation of an office called Voice, or Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement, to track crimes committed by undocumented immigrants, reports the New York Times.

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Rubio: Immigration reform 'going to be difficult, but it is possible' - AOL News

MORE THAN once, President Trump has enticed Democrats and some moderate Republicans and risked infuriating hard-liners in his base by expressing an openness to overhauling the nations dysfunctional immigration system. He did so again in a session at the White House with television news anchors Tuesday, saying hed consider a compromise that included legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants, and then wondering aloud whether he should float the idea to Congress in his speech that night. He did not but if he really wishes to bring about the unity and renewal of the American spirit he spoke of in his address, he should.

It is a fools game to guess whether the president will ultimately legalize or deport more of the nations 11 million undocumented immigrants; he himself may have no firm idea what he intends. But if he wants to soothe this festering political and social wound, he is well positioned to do it. Having established himself as a hard-liner on illegal immigration and proposed tough new measures to stop it, he might well persuade fellow Republicans to accept a compromise on the millions of noncriminal immigrants already in the country.

A good place to start would be the question of what to do about dreamers, the 2 million or so undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children. There Mr. Trump has been more consistent. After initially suggesting he would scrap the Obama administrations program granting them temporary protection from deportation, the new president has repeatedly expressed sympathy for the dreamers plight, making clear he is disinclined to target them for removal and telling the news anchors he would be open to forging a pathway to citizenship for them.

Fair enough, but will he have the courage of his apparent convictions? The test is whether he acts to dispel the uncertainty hanging over the heads of roughly 750,000 dreamers whose age, duration of residence in the United States and verified clean record enabled them to register for the program, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which provides work permits and temporary protection from removal. Registrants, who submit their names, addresses and other information, are now justifiably fearful that the government may use that data to track them down once their two-year DACA protections lapse. Hundreds of thousands of other eligible youngsters are unlikely to enroll given that peril.

Dreamers represent a pool of talent, brains and ambition that the United States should want to cultivate. Some 3,700 students in the University of California system are undocumented immigrants, and tens of thousands of dreamers are enrolled at other post-secondary institutions across the country. What possible benefit is there in deporting a promising cohort that is American in all but birth certificate?

With the stroke of a pen, Mr. Trump could extend the existing program, enabling dreamers to continue working, studying and living productive lives. He could go further by proposing permanent legal status or a path to citizenship for immigrants who, in many cases, have little memory of any country but the United States. That would lend weight to the presidents oft-stated assertions of his compassion.

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Trump's opportunity to do the right thing on immigration reform - Washington Post