President Trump has decided to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, but will delay its dismantling for six months, Politico reported, citing two people familiar with Trump's thinking. DACA is an Obama-era program that grants work permits to young immigrants brought into America illegally as children, and currently benefits roughly 800,000 "DREAMers."
The president has faced criticism from some in his own party for mulling ending the program. On Friday, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) urged Trump not to end the program outright, saying, "I believe that this is something that Congress has to fix." But the program has also been seen by many Republicans as an overreach of executive authority. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump promised to end DACA immediately, but has since expressed a sympathetic tone towards DREAMers. On Friday, Trump told reporters, "We love the DREAMers. We think the DREAMers are terrific."
Politico reported it was Attorney General Jeff Sessions who finally helped persuade Trump to "kick the issue to Congress." But as The Washington Post reported, "tackling immigration is not easy for Congress."
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Trump is expected to officially announce his decision on Tuesday.
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