Jimmy Kimmel hits Trump's DACA move with a special, Trump-centric plea for the children of immigrants

Jimmy Kimmel pans Trump on DACA
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Jimmy Kimmel Live)

President Trump's decision to scrap the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was widely panned by politicians on the right and left (who now have to deal with the issue, or not), and Jimmy Kimmel wasn't a fan of the move, either. "Our president woke up and asked his staff, 'Now that this hurricane is over, what's something horrible I can do to distract people from the Russia investigation?'" he guessed on Tuesday's Kimmel Live. "Someone said, 'You know, there are 800,000 innocent kids you could deport for no good reason,' and he said, 'Done and done.'"

Kimmel described the basics of DACA, a legislative workaround crafted by former President Barack Obama, and guessed at Trump's motive. "It seems like his main agenda is just to undo everything Obama did," he said. "I hope he doesn't bring bin Laden back to life!" Nevertheless, killing DACA is kind of "a surprise, because a few months ago, Trump said that those covered by DACA could 'rest easy' — and that's when you know you're in trouble," Kimmel added. "It's like when Dracula tells you to relax and take off your scarf. These are American kids! Some of these kids have never visited the places they could get deported to." But if the goal of DACA is to get rid of the children of immigrants, regardless of the blame that falls to their parents, Kimmel had a plea for clemency. And he wisely left Barron out of the joke. Peter Weber

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
Explore More
Peter Weber, The Week US

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.