Immigration negotiations in Congress center on parole, asylum policy

WASHINGTON — A deal on changes to immigration policy remained elusive on Tuesday for top U.S. Senate negotiators.

Those leading the talks — Sens. James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut and Kyrsten Sinema, independent of Arizona — have worked for weeks to strike a deal between the White House and Senate Republicans on immigration policy changes at the U.S. Southern border.

Congress was on a break for the holidays but returned this week.

“Everybody’s still at the table talking, so that’s a good thing,” Lankford said, adding that he’s hoping there can be bill text later this week.