Trump administration kills program to shield immigrant parents of 'DREAMers'

HHS Secretary John Kelly kills the DAPA program

(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

published 16 June 2017

On Thursday night, the Homeland Security Department announced that DHS Secretary John Kelly has formally revoked a program that sought to protect the parents of U.S. citizens and legal residents from deportation. Former President Barack Obama had announced the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) program, enacted through a policy memo, in November 2014, along with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but neither fully took effect because a federal judge in Texas blocked parts of each.

During the presidential campaign, President Trump had pledged to end both programs, but it isn't clear what he plans to do about DACA, created to shield certain immigrants, called DREAMers, who were brought the U.S. as children. As of March 31, The Associated Press says, some 787,000 immigrants have been approved for DACA. Kelly revoked the DAPA program on the fifth anniversary of DACA's enactment.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.