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Backing a comprehensive immigration reform bill like the one pushed by a bipartisan group of senators in 2013 would be a dramatic break from what Trump said during his 2016 campaign. The President made the comment Thursday as he urged the group to work together to figure out a solution to break gridlock on immigration.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer quickly knocked down speculation that Trump was supportive of a bill like the one supported by the Gang of Eight, which would have created a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants as long as certain border security measures were undertaken at the same time. But those in the room said Trump did not dismiss the measure and encouraged bipartisan work on immigration.

Senators, according to one attendee, told Trump that it was important to fix the nation's immigration system and stressed that Trump was in a "unique position to help do that."

"He encouraged us to review it," West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said referring to the 2013 bill.

"He didn't boo-hoo it," Manchin added. "He engaged."

According to a source in the room, the plan to address comprehensive immigration reform was broached by Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican who backed the measure in 2013. Trump responded, the source said, by expressing an openness to reopen talks about immigration reform.

"The senator did suggest that it is important to fix our immigration system and that the President is in a unique position to help do that," a spokesman for Alexander said after the meeting.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said immigration was just one of several issues discussed at the meeting and was not the main focus. But he encouraged Trump not to pursue a big immigration bill, instead to move on the issue piece by piece.

"I basically said, 'Mr. President, before these people lead you down a rabbit trail, let me tell you that what they're talking about will never pass.' But I think there was an almost universal interest in addressing our lauded immigration system," Cornyn told CNN.

Spicer, in response to reporting on the meeting, told reporters that Trump was not in favor of a Gang of Eight-style bill. Instead, Spicer said Trump pledged to look at whatever the senators came up with as an immigration compromise but did not express support for "amnesty."

"He said, 'If you guys want to work on something, I'm willing to look at it,'" said Spicer, adding that Trump remains opposed to the Gang of Eight bill.

In August 2015, Trump told CNN that his immigration reform plan would require people to leave the country.

"No, there's not a path to legalization unless people leave the country, if they come back in and then they have to start paying taxes," he told Anderson Cooper.

And during the Republican primary, Trump repeatedly bashed opponents -- particularly Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida -- who backed the measure.

"Marco is a politician -- he flip-flops," Trump tweeted in response to a story that alleged Rubio's bill would have helped cities that harbored undocumented immigrants.

Rubio eventually backed away from his work on the Gang of Eight bill, even attempting to argue during his 2016 presidential campaign that the bill was never meant to become law.

Eight senators -- four Democrats and four Republicans -- got together in 2013 to push the comprehensive immigration reform measure that was meant to solve the immigration problem with a mix of progressive and conservative solutions.

In a 68-32 vote, the roughly 1,200-page measure was passed by the Senate in 2013. But House Republicans, whose members railed against illegal immigration and the comprehensive immigration reform measure, never took up the bill.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.

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Trump doesn't rule out comprehensive immigration reform bill in meeting - CNN

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 09: U.S. President Donald Trump (C) delivers remarks before the swearing in ceremony for Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) in the Oval Office of the White House February 9, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump also signed three executive orders immediately after the swearing in ceremony. Also pictured is U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (L). (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 09: U.S. President Donald Trump (C) delivers remarks before the swearing in ceremony for Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) in the Oval Office of the White House February 9, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump also signed three executive orders immediately after the swearing in ceremony. Also pictured is U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (L). (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (CNN) - President Donald Trump told a bipartisan group of senators at the White House Thursday that he is interested in learning more about the so-called "Gang of Eight" immigration reform bill, multiple meeting attendees told CNN.

Backing a comprehensive immigration reform bill like the one pushed by a bipartisan group of senators in 2013 would be a dramatic break from what Trump said during his 2016 campaign. The President made the comment Thursday as he urged the group to work together to figure out a solution to break gridlock on immigration.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer quickly knocked down speculation that Trump was supportive of a bill like the one supported by the Gang of Eight, which would have created a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants as long as certain border security measures were undertaken at the same time. But those in the room said Trump did not dismiss the measure and encouraged bipartisan work on immigration.

Senators, according to one attendee, told Trump that it was important to fix the nation's immigration system and stressed that Trump was in a "unique position to help do that."

"He encouraged us to review it," West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said referring to the 2013 bill.

"He didn't boo-hoo it," Manchin added. "He engaged."

According to a source in the room, the plan to address comprehensive immigration reform was broached by Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican who backed the measure in 2013. Trump responded, the source said, by expressing an openness to reopen talks about immigration reform.

"The senator did suggest that it is important to fix our immigration system and that the President is in a unique position to help do that," a spokesman for Alexander said after the meeting.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said immigration was just one of several issues discussed at the meeting and was not the main focus. But he encouraged Trump not to pursue a big immigration bill, instead to move on the issue piece by piece.

"I basically said, 'Mr. President, before these people lead you down a rabbit trail, let me tell you that what they're talking about will never pass.' But I think there was an almost universal interest in addressing our lauded immigration system," Cornyn told CNN.

Spicer, in response to reporting on the meeting, told reporters that Trump was not in favor of a Gang of Eight-style bill. Instead, Spicer said Trump pledged to look at whatever the senators came up with as an immigration compromise but did not express support for "amnesty."

"He said, 'If you guys want to work on something, I'm willing to look at it,'" said Spicer, adding that Trump remains opposed to the Gang of Eight bill.

In August 2015, Trump told CNN that his immigration reform plan would require people to leave the country.

"No, there's not a path to legalization unless people leave the country, if they come back in and then they have to start paying taxes," he told Anderson Cooper.

And during the Republican primary, Trump repeatedly bashed opponents -- particularly Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida -- who backed the measure.

"Marco is a politician -- he flip-flops," Trump tweeted in response to a story that alleged Rubio's bill would have helped cities that harbored undocumented immigrants.

Rubio eventually backed away from his work on the Gang of Eight bill, even attempting to argue during his 2016 presidential campaign that the bill was never meant to become law.

Eight senators -- four Democrats and four Republicans -- got together in 2013 to push the comprehensive immigration reform measure that was meant to solve the immigration problem with a mix of progressive and conservative solutions.

In a 68-32 vote, the roughly 1,200-page measure was passed by the Senate in 2013. But House Republicans, whose members railed against illegal immigration and the comprehensive immigration reform measure, never took up the bill.

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Trump doesn't rule out immigration reform bill in meeting - Tristatehomepage.com

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AUSTIN (KXAN) On Wednesday afternoon, Austin Mayor Steve Adler connected by phone with business leaders from across Texas. He listened to their questions and concerns about immigration policies and their impact on companies.

The businesses on this call were expressing real concern about the substance and the tenor of the conversation happening nationally with respect to immigration, said Adler. Many of the companies on the phone were tech companies and a lot of their talent comes from immigrant communities or overseas.

The conference call was organized by a non-partisan group called Business Forward. They discussed President Trumps travel ban, the wall and sanctuary cities.

Mayor Adler discussed data that highlightsbenefits immigrants bring to the U.S. economy. From 1995 to 2005, he says 25 percent of the tech and engineering companies had at least one immigrant founder. His office also notes that UT has 100 students, faculty and scholars from banned countries.

I think we need to keep our borders secure, but I think we can do that in a way that still operates to promote safety, that still delivers on American dream, said Adler. Were a country made of immigrants and we are stronger because of that.

Joah Spearman, Founder and CEO of the Austin-based startup Localeur, says he and other entrepreneurs have talked to the mayor about these issues.

In order to grow, you need the right resources to do that. Some of that is capital, access to capital, and a lot of that is talent, access to the best talent, said Spearman.

Spearman says within the last 24 hours hes talked to an entrepreneur reconsidering doing business in the United States, as well as another company devoting resources to helping an employee with legal expenses.

I have to make sure my employees get their paychecks every month so they can pay their mortgages and their rents and their utilities bills. Now if Im having to think about things like, Are they going to be able to get back into the country? Can their family and friends get in the country? Things of that nature, it just adds more complexity to the business and takes away from us being able to focus on the things that are going to make us successful, Spearman said.

Mayor Adler wants business leaders to continue using their voice, so policymakers get the message.

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Mayor Adler talks immigration reform with businesses - KXAN.com

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Sessions is unparalleled in his knowledge of the proper role of the Department of Justice, the legislative process, and the rule of law, all of which will be critical in restoring much-needed accountability and responsibility to the nations immigration policies, said a statement from Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

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An able Senator and sincere advocate for fairness, Senator Sessions fully understands the dangers posed by the 300 jurisdictions around the nation that have adopted policies that impede federal immigration enforcement and protect criminal aliens, Stein said.

Under Sessionsleadership, the Department of Justice will likely take action against jurisdictions that embrace dangerous policies that shockingly defy federal law. These policies have been directly responsible for periodic crimes committed against innocent citizens, whom our laws are meant to protect

The days of turning a blind eye to illegal immigration, pushing for the adoption of mass amnesty policies, and allowing tens of thousands of criminal aliens to dodge deportation are over, Stein added.

During his contentious confirmation hearing, Sessions vowed to end the cycle of mass immigration, mass amnesty, and ever-larger waves of migrants enticed by the promise of legalization.

Im going to follow the laws passed by Congress, Sessions said. I do believe that if you continually go through a cycle of amnesty that you undermine the respect for the law and encourage more illegal immigration into America. I believe the American people spoke clearly in this election. I believe they agreed with my basic view.

The Senate confirmed Sessions 52-47 Wednesday evening.

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Sessions' Confirmation: Era of 'Mass Amnesty Policies' Is Over, Says Pro-American Immigration Reformer - Breitbart News

At his daily briefing on Wednesday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer did not rule out the possibility that President Trump could have federal officials begin proactively deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal records.

Trump gave a speech earlier in the day in which he asked local law enforcement officials to assist with deportations by alerting the Department of Homeland Security about who the illegal immigrant gang members are. In light of the presidents remarks, Yahoo News asked Spicer whether the president would consider having the DHS or Customs and Border Control agents proactively begin deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal records, if he doesnt get the cooperation he wants from local police.

Spicer did not directly address the possibility of federal agents stepping up deportation efforts. He suggested instead that Trumps priorities are the construction of a wall on the United States southern border and the implementation of his executive orders on immigration.

Look, when you talk about immigration and what hes doing whether its the wall or enforcing existing regulations or visa reform I dont think anybody questions the presidents commitment to border security and immigration reform. In fact, its usually quite the opposite, Spicer said.

So, when it comes to the steps that hes going to take, I think Ive addressed this multiple times what his priorities are going to be, he continued. Youve seen [Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly] talk about construction of the wall, his implementation of the executive order to keep people out.

Both the DHS and CBP have the authority to operate within 100 miles of any of the countrys external boundaries. This includes land borders as well as populous coastline areas, encompassing an area that the American Civil Liberties Union claims includes roughly twothirds of the population.

Last month, Trump signed executive orders withdramatic measures to curb illegal immigration. They included a request for the immediate construction of a physical wall on the southern border and measuresdesigned to push local authorities to assist with deportations.He took steps to empower local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration laws, and called for the defunding of so-called sanctuary cities, which have opted to refuse to hand over some undocumented immigrants for deportation.

Yahoo News pressed Spicer about whether defunding is the only tool the president might use to encourage stricter immigration enforcement in cities where local officials are not cooperating. Spicer declined to answer.

Im not going to get ahead of it, he said.

Press secretary Sean Spicer takes a question at a press briefing at the White House. (Photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

Spicer went on to point to positive feedback that he said Trump had received at the event where he made his call upon local law enforcement to do more to assist with deportations. Trump was addressing the winter conference of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, a gathering of urban sheriffs and police chiefs. On Tuesday, he met with sheriffs who support his immigration plans, and they gave him a letter of thanks.

The support that theyve issued on behalf of his executive actions and his agenda as a whole, these are the folks on the front lines in many cases that are on the border that see what some of this does and how it affects families and businesses, Spicer said.

He went on to argue that illegal immigration is costly both in terms of the money spent on enforcement efforts and the cost that it has on our economy and our jobs.

So, youre going to continue to see a flurry of activity over and over and over again to make sure that this president continues to show the importance that he puts on both border security and immigration reform, Spicer said.

He also discussed Trumps efforts to deter local officials from adopting sanctuary city policies when a journalist from Cincinnati, Ohio, Courtis Fuller, asked him if Cincinnati would face economic or other sanctions over its recent decision to become a sanctuary city.

The presidents going to do everything he can within the scope of the executive order to make sure that cities who dont comply with it counties and other institutions that remain sanctuary cities dont get federal government funding, in compliance with the executive order, he said.

Spicer noted thatafter Trump issued the order, Miamis mayor, Carlos Gimnez, a Republican who backed Hillary Clinton, asked local officials to help with federal immigration detention requests. The press secretary suggested that other jurisdictions should follow this example.

I think more areas like Miami-Dade down in Florida understand the importance of this order, he said. We hope cities like Cincinnati and other communities around the country follow their lead and comply with that.

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White House discusses Trump's plans for 'sanctuary cities' and potential deportations - Yahoo News