Lindsey Graham claims Trump made 'the right decision' on DACA

Democrats and Republicans alike issued statements Tuesday criticizing the Trump administration's handling of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program after Attorney General Jeff Sessions' announcement that the Obama-era policy would be rescinded. On Wednesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) expressed a slightly different opinion: "I think the president made the right decision by giving [Congress] six months," he told Today.

As Graham explained, "the compassionate thing to do is to give these kids legal status, let them become citizens," further noting, as many have, that "they lived their life in America. They would add great value to our country." But Graham added that "in terms of the law, 10 attorney generals filed a lawsuit today suggesting that DACA was unconstitutional. They were going to win in court."

Others have nevertheless been critical of Trump's handling of DACA, with The Washington Post writing that the president "has temporarily placed the fates of roughly 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children in the hands of Congress, buying himself time and shunting responsibility."

The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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

At The Week, Damon Linker remains skeptical that Congress will save DACA. "Despite an overwhelming majority of the country favoring such a compromise, Congress has repeatedly failed to act," he writes. Read more on the democratic dysfunction here.