WASHINGTON (Reuters) - No.

2 Senate Democrat Dick

Durbin has had multiple conversations with Jared Kushner
and other top White House officials about how to protect
young immigrants known as Dreamers from deportation,
the lawmaker said on Thursday.

Durbin, in an interview with Reuters, described Kushner as

a conduit to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump, and
open to the idea of doing something to help the 800,000
Dreamers brought illegally to the United States as children.

Kushner, a top administration aide with a broad portfolio

that includes brokering a Middle East peace agreement, held
private meetings at the White House with Durbin and
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham in April and July,
according to Durbins office.

Durbin, an outspoken advocate for the Obama-era Deferred

Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protected the
Dreamers from deportation and allowed them work permits,
told Reuters he teamed up with Graham to discuss
opportunities with the White House to help those enrolled in
DACA.

We initially had a conversation (with Kushner), at Senator

(Chuck) Grassleys invitation, on criminal justice and I
asked Mr. Kushner afterwards if we could talk about
immigration, separate and apart from Senator Grassley,
which we did, Durbin said.

I went into ... DACA because I was concerned about how

this was going to unfold, the Illinois lawmaker said.The
conversations underscore a level of interest in the issue
 among senior White House aides that could lend momentum
to the congressional debate on approving a permanent
legislative fix for the Dreamers that Durbin has sought for
the past 16 years.

The talks also point to a White House that could be moving

away from a more rigid immigration stance than during the
initial weeks of Trumps presidency.

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A White House spokesman said the administration acted

lawfully to correct the unconstitutional actions taken by
former President Barack Obama. It is now up to Congress
to act on behalf of the American people, he said.

The fate of the Dreamers has been in question since Trump

won last Novembers presidential election on a promise of
clamping down on illegal immigration.

Several state attorneys general had threatened legal action to

kill DACA and set a Sept. 5 deadline for Trump to rescind
former President Barack Obamas executive order
protecting the Dreamers or face a lawsuit.

A demonstrator holds a sign during a rally against the rescindment of DACA (Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals) program outside the San Francisco Federal Building in San Francisco, California,
U.S., September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

On Tuesday, the Republican president said he would

eliminate DACA in six months and urged Congress to work
on an alternative during that time.

CHALLENGING SIGNALS
 Besides the White House meetings, Durbin said there were
telephone calls with Kushner as well as calls and meetings
with then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, who
recently became Trumps White House chief of staff.

Durbin said that Kushner invited Trump aide Stephen Miller

to attend one of the White House meetings because of his
experience as a Senate aide to Jeff Sessions, who now
serves as attorney general.

Slideshow (3 Images)

Sessions has been a leading voice in the Senate and Trumps

Cabinet for tough enforcement of U.S. immigration laws
and curtailing immigration generally.

Durbin said that during the meeting with Miller, there was
nothing in my conversation with him that suggested he had
moved away from Sessions rigid stance.

Durbin said that he had not spoken directly with Trump

since an Inauguration Day handshake at a Capitol Hill
luncheon when the new president spoke in positive terms
about Dreamers.

In describing some of the behind-the-scenes efforts, the

senator portrayed a roller coaster-like series of
challenging signals from Trump that began even before
his inauguration on Jan. 20.

During the course of his presidency, he has said very

positive things about Dreamers and DACA and its been a
notable exception to his statements on immigration and
travel and Muslims and Mexicans. This seemed to be a
separate category in his mind and thats why I explored it,
Durbin said.

He said that Trumps announcement about the program on

Tuesday appeared to be a setback from what I hoped would
occur based on his positive comments on Dreamers and
DACA.

But then within 12 hours, Durbin added, the president

was sending messages by tweet and otherwise that were
more encouraging and they continue even until this
morning.