WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Republican senators agree that the fate of tens of thousands of young immigrants in the U.S. illegally will be decided next year.

That's the word from Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who joined other lawmakers at a White House meeting on Thursday. Cotton says they agreed the must-pass, year-end spending bill in December won't include protections for young immigrants.

Earlier this year, the Democratic leaders of the Senate and House said they'd reached the broad outlines of an agreement with Trump to extend protections for young immigrants known as Dreamers in exchange for a package of border security measures.

Cotton says he believes it's not appropriate to cram such an important matter as immigration policy on a spending bill.