President Trump will not deport undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, known as "DREAMers" (after the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), a reversal of his campaign pledge, The New York Times reports. Trump claimed during the campaign the program "defied federal law and the Constitution."
The Department of Homeland Security made the announcement, which affects about 800,000 people, Thursday night. The decision to keep the Obama-era policy is "a tribute to the strength of the DREAMer movement and an acknowledgment — at least in part — by [the DHS] that it should not be targeting undocumented immigrants who have strong ties to their communities and have abided by the law," said immigration lawyer David Leopold.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Global court issues arrest warrant for NetanyahuSpeed Read The International Criminal Court issued warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who stand accused of war crimes
-
Gaetz bows out, Trump pivots to Pam BondiSpeed Read Gaetz withdrew from attorney generation consideration, making way for longtime Trump loyalist Pam Bondi
-
GOP's Mace seeks federal anti-trans bathroom banSpeed Read Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced legislation to ban transgender people from using federal facilities
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid warSpeed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freezeSpeed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bansSpeed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler groupSpeed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emergeSpeed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
