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Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program after Attorney General Jeff Sessions' announcement that the Obama-era policy would be rescinded.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."
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.
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
June 24 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include dreams of a Nobel Peace Prize, a crispy heatwave, and congressional consultation
-
Sex, drugs and a royal ruckus: the US play with a future gay Prince George
Talking Point The controversial off-Broadway show is a hit with audiences in New York
-
Labour's brewing welfare rebellion
The Explainer Keir Starmer seems determined to press on with disability benefit cuts despite a "nightmare" revolt by his own MPs
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday
-
Smithsonian asserts its autonomy from Trump
speed read The DC institution defied Trump's firing of National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet
-
Trump sends Marines to LA, backs Newsom arrest
speed read California Gov. Gavin Newsom is filing lawsuits in response to Trump's escalation of the federal response to ICE protests
-
Trump foists National Guard on unwilling California
speed read Protests erupted over ICE immigration raids in LA county