President Donald Trump said Thursday that he and opposition Democrats are "fairly close" to a deal that would allow young immigrants brought into the country illegally as children to remain in the United States.

"I think we are fairly close but we have to get massive border security," the president said after a dinner meeting the previous evening with top Democratic lawmakers Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.

Trump's predecessor Barack Obama protected such immigrants, known as "Dreamers," through his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) order.

But Trump has rescinded that executive order, and urged Congress to craft a legal solution within the next six months.