"House Republicans stepped forward ... with a [hardline] vision of immigration policy that clashed fiercely with President Trump’s recent overtures of bipartisanship and highlighted how difficult it will be ... to reach accord in the coming weeks," the N.Y. Times writes in its lead story

Why it matters: "[T]he House proposal [more expansive than what Trump has outlined] highlighted the uncertainty surrounding negotiations that are supposed to coalesce before the government runs out of money on Jan. 19."

• "Trump’s positions vacillate daily. And members of both parties are divided. Some Democrats are pressing for confrontation, while others seem to fear a political backlash. Some Republicans are searching for compromise against a conservative tide of anti-immigrant fervor."

N.Y. Times Quote of the Day ... Francis Madi, 28, who was brought to the United States from Venezuela in 2003, on the tension she and other “Dreamers” feel as they watch their fate being debated:

• “It’s like watching a telenovela. Every day is different. Now we’re just going to the stressful part of the telenovela where you wonder what will happen to the protagonist.”