A map of Mexico as it was in 1794 is displayed as young immigrants and their supporters rally in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in Los Angeles, California on September 1, 2017. A decision is expected in coming days on whether US President Trump will end the program by his predecessor, former President Obama, on DACA which has protected some 800,000 undocumented immigrants, also known as Dreamers, since 2012. / (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump told hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants in the United States who are waiting to hear if DACA, the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals Act, will be eliminated in the next six months: “You have nothing to worry about.”
For all of those (DACA) that are concerned about your status during the 6 month period, you have nothing to worry about – No action!
Trump sent the tweet to try to reassure so-called DREAMers, people who came to the United States illegally as children, that they will not be targeted by immigration officials during the next six months while Congress decides whether to make DACA law.
DACA was signed in 2012 as an executive order by then-President Barack Obama. Trump said he wants to repeal that executive order, but has told Congress they have six months to decide on whether to legalize it or not.
Obama sent out a statement on his Facebook page calling the decision to target DACA “cruel” and “wrong.”
“To target these young people is wrong – because they have done nothing wrong. It is self-defeating – because they want to start new businesses, staff our labs, serve in our military, and otherwise contribute to the country we love. And it is cruel. What if our kid’s science teacher, or our friendly neighbor turns out to be a Dreamer? Where are we supposed to send her? To a country she doesn’t know or remember, with a language she may not even speak?” Obama wrote.
On Tuesday, Trump tweeted that if Congress doesn’t act, he will “revisit this issue.”
Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can’t, I will revisit this issue!
Trump said he has “a great heart for the folks we’re talking about – a great love for them. And people think in terms of children, but they’re really young adults. I have a love for these people, and hopefully now Congress will be able to help them and do it properly.”
“And I can tell you, in speaking to members of Congress, they want to be able to do something and do it right,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “And really, we have no choice. We have to be able to do something, and I think it’s going to work out very well. And long-term, it’s going to be the right solution,” Trump said.