Freedom Caucus issues a stern warning to Paul Ryan on immigration - here's what they said

The chairman of the Freedom Caucus issued a stern warning to House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) about the negotiations over immigration between Republicans and Democrats.

Here's what he said:

"I can say it is the defining moment for this speaker," Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said Monday about immigration. "If he gets it wrong it will have consequences for him, but it will also have consequences for the rest of the Republican Party."

The conservative Freedom Caucus of the House of Representatives has sought more strict immigration control and has criticized the Republican establishment for being too eager to bend to compromise with the far less restrictive policies of the Democrats.

"This president was elected largely on an immigration issue that defined him differently than the other candidates,"  Meadows added, "and so it is the defining moment, moreso than the budget or anything else that we've passed."

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) added his own criticism against the House speaker.

"Just a few years ago, Speaker Ryan was viewed as the individual in our party, in our country, who was focused on fiscal responsibility, and then you saw what happened last week," Jordan said, referring to the budget.

"So all I'm saying is we need legislation in every policy area that is consistent with that we told them we were going to do and what they elected us to do," he continued. "That did not happen last week, but I certainly hope it happens on immigration."

The Trump deal rebuffed

President Donald Trump has offered to back a pathway to citizenship for nearly 2 million "Dreamers," a euphemism for illegal immigrants who were brought into the country as children, in exchange for billions in funding for the border wall. The Democrats so far have balked at the suggestion, and demanded a standalone vote on extending the DACA amnesty slated to end March 5.