Biden backs Hill Democrats' plan to put immigration measure in $3.5 trillion infrastructure package

President Biden is putting his support behind an effort by congressional Democrats to include an immigration-reform measure in a proposed $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill that his party aims to pass through a legislative procedure that would require no Republican votes.

Biden said Thursday night after meeting with the Capitol Hill Democrats about protecting millions of illegal immigrants that White House staff was "putting out a message right now" that "we should include in the reconciliation bill the immigration proposal," according to The New York Times.

The proposal refers to the Obama-era program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, that protects some immigrants from deportation. Advocates have pushed for Democrats to provide expedited citizenship to the so-called "Dreamers," amid legal challenges to the program, also known as DACA.

The legislative maneuver that Democrats are considering is known as budget reconciliation, which essentially allows the 100-member Senate to pass budget, or spending-related, bills by a simple 51-vote majority. Senate Democrats have that number with Vice President Kamal Harris as the tiebreaker.

Biden also said the meeting, which included members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and leadership of the Senate and House Judiciary committees, "went well."

Earlier this month, a U.S. federal judge in Texas blocked new applications to a DACA program, which protects from deportation immigrants who were brought to the United States as children, but said the hundreds of thousands of people already enrolled would not be affected until further court rulings.