Trump Will Reportedly Scrap DACA Despite Protests

Though an official decision has not yet been announced, President Donald Trump has reportedly decided to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a program instituted under President Obama which grants undocumented immigrants who arrive in the United States as children work permits and protection from deportation. These children, often referred to as Dreamers, would face threat of deportation should the program be scrapped by Trump. The New York Times reported on Sept. 3 Trump will give Congress six months before ending DACA to come up with an alternative program.

Trump is expected to officially announce his decision to end DACA on Tuesday. According to Politico, who first reported the news, senior White House aides met Sunday to discuss how to announce what is sure to be an extremely controversial decision. However, officials told New York Times that the decision is not yet final, and that key details are still being hammered out.

Republican lawmakers, including House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, have been vocal opponents of ending DACA, something Trump pledged to do in his presidential campaign. In an interview with a Wisconsin radio station on Friday, Ryan said he didn't think Trump should rescind DACA.

Similarly, Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch from Utah said in a statement on Friday that he "urged the president not to rescind DACA."

He said,

I've urged the president not to rescind DACA, an action that would further complicate a system in serious need of a permanent, legislative solution. Like the president, I've long advocated for tougher enforcement of our existing immigration laws. But we also need a workable, permanent solution for individuals who entered our country unlawfully as children through no fault of their own and who have built their lives here. That solution must come from Congress.

Though the administration is expected to allow Congress six months to act, it is not clear what would happen should Congress fail to instate a replacement program in that time.

Nearly 800,000 Dreamers were, through no fault of their own, brought undocumented to the U.S. and are authorized to work through DACA. The rollback of the program would likely incite a highly emotional response from those whose lives would be uprooted from a country in which they once thought they were protected.

Already, many politicians — including many Republicans — are voicing their protest of Trump's expected decision. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) wrote on Twitter,

After teasing #Dreamers for months with talk of his 'great heart,' @POTUS slams door on them. Some 'heart'...

Trump is expected to announce his official decision after Labor Day, on Tuesday.