Trump Ends DACA Calls On Congress To Act : NPR
Trump Ends DACA  Calls On Congress To Act
 The Trump administration  Tuesday formally announced  it  will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program â also called DACA â putting an expiration date on the legal protections granted to roughly 800 000 people known as "DREAMers " who entered the country illegally as children.
 President Trump  issued a statement  saying  "I do not favor punishing children  most of whom are now adults  for the actions of their parents. But we must also recognize that we are nation of opportunity because we are a nation of laws."
 He  also said  he  looks forward to working with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to address immigration issues "in a manner that puts the hardworking citizens of our country first."
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said  Trump  "wrestled" with the decision to end DACA over the weekend. In an afternoon briefing  she denied the decision was "coldhearted " painting it as the alternative to an immediate shutdown of the program by a federal court. She said  the president  wants DACA made permanent as part of "comprehensive" immigration legislation that would end illegal immigration  prevent visa overstays and create a "merit based" system of immigration.
 Trump  signaled the decision earlier on Tuesday  tweeting  "Congress  get ready to do your job - DACA."
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York called the administration's decision "heartless." He said Democrats "will do everything we can to prevent  President Trump 's terribly wrong order from becoming reality."
The DREAMers had been in legal limbo since the start of the current administration. Throughout his campaign   Trump  railed against the 2012 executive order signed by Obama â and pledged to "immediately terminate the policy" once he took office.
But after being sworn in  he expressed some compassion toward DACA recipients. In an interview with ABC News on Jan. 25   Trump  said  "They shouldn't be very worried. I do have a big heart. We're going to take care of everybody."
The Obama program was thrown into the center of a looming court battle in late June when a coalition of 10 state attorneys general  led by Texas' Ken Paxton  threatened to sue the  Trump  administration as early as Sept. 5 if it refused to phase out DACA. They argued that Obama had overstepped his authority in creating and implementing the program. Only Congress has the authority to legislate such a change in U.S. immigration law  they contended.
Sessions had advocated for the termination of DACA but  as BuzzFeed reported in March  he was often outargued by former chief of staff Reince Priebus and former chief strategist Steve Bannon  who like  Trump  wanted to see it preserved.
But with Bannon and Priebus now gone from the West Wing  it appears the position held by Sessions and Stephen Miller  another  Trump White House  aide with ties to Sessions  has won out â under the pressure exerted by Paxton and some of his fellow state attorneys general.
 Trump 's decision leaves Congress facing increasing pressure to find a solution for a population that was estimated in 2012 to include as many as 1.8 million immigrants â of which about 800 000 have been granted deferred status under DACA.
At the moment there are at least two bipartisan bills that could grant legal status or create a pathway to citizenship for those who were eligible for DACA. In July  Sens. Dick Durbin  D-Ill.  and Lindsey Graham  R-S.C.  introduced a new version of the DREAM Act  after which the DREAMers are named. And a companion bill was filed in  the House  by Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen  R-Fla.  and Lucille Roybal-Allard  D-Calif.
Graham added  "The Congress is going to have to up its game." He said he agreed with the  Trump  administration that Obama's executive action was an "unconstitutional overreach " and said  President Trump  was "also right to give us six months to figure out a solution to this."
Durbin introduced an earlier version of the DREAM Act â the "Development  Relief  and Education for Alien Minors Act" â in late 2010; that bill failed to get enough votes to allow a floor vote. But the legislative project goes back much longer than the middle of Obama's first term as president. Durbin first filed legislation about the DREAMers in 2001. "Other versions passed  the House  in 2010 and in the Senate  as part of a larger immigration bill  in 2013. But no bill has ever been passed by both chambers " according to the Washington Post.
Trump Ends DACA  Calls On Congress To Act
  [TGT] Tuesday formally announced   [TGT]   will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program â also called DACA â putting an expiration date on the legal protections granted to roughly 800 000 people known as "DREAMers " who entered the country illegally as children.
  [TGT] issued a statement  saying  "I do not favor punishing children  most of whom are now adults  for the actions of their parents. But we must also recognize that we are nation of opportunity because we are a nation of laws."
 He  also said  he  looks forward to working with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to address immigration issues "in a manner that puts the hardworking citizens of our country first."
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said   [TGT]   "wrestled" with the decision to end DACA over the weekend. In an afternoon briefing  she denied the decision was "coldhearted " painting it as the alternative to an immediate shutdown of the program by a federal court. She said  the president  wants DACA made permanent as part of "comprehensive" immigration legislation that would end illegal immigration  prevent visa overstays and create a "merit based" system of immigration.
  [TGT] signaled the decision earlier on Tuesday  tweeting  "Congress  get ready to do your job - DACA."
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York called the administration's decision "heartless." He said Democrats "will do everything we can to prevent  President Trump 's terribly wrong order from becoming reality."
The DREAMers had been in legal limbo since the start of the current administration. Throughout  [TGT] railed against the 2012 executive order signed by Obama â and pledged to "immediately terminate the policy" once he took office.
But after being sworn in  he expressed some compassion toward DACA recipients. In an interview with ABC News on Jan. 25    [TGT] said  "They shouldn't be very worried. I do have a big heart. We're going to take care of everybody."
The Obama program was thrown into the center of a looming court battle in late June when a coalition of 10 state attorneys general  led by Texas' Ken Paxton  threatened to sue the   [TGT] administration as early as Sept. 5 if it refused to phase out DACA. They argued that Obama had overstepped his authority in creating and implementing the program. Only Congress has the authority to legislate such a change in U.S. immigration law  they contended.
Sessions had advocated for the termination of DACA but  as BuzzFeed reported in March  he was often outargued by former chief of staff Reince Priebus and former chief strategist Steve Bannon  who like   [TGT]   wanted to see  [TGT]  preserved.
But with Bannon and Priebus now gone from the West Wing  it appears the position held by Sessions and Stephen Miller  another   [TGT]  White House  aide with ties to Sessions  has won out â under the pressure exerted by Paxton and some of his fellow state attorneys general.
  [TGT]  's decision leaves Congress facing increasing pressure to find a solution for a population that was estimated in 2012 to include as many as 1.8 million immigrants â of which about 800 000 have been granted deferred status under DACA.
At the moment there are at least two bipartisan bills that could grant legal status or create a pathway to citizenship for those who were eligible for DACA. In July  Sens. Dick Durbin  D-Ill.  and Lindsey Graham  R-S.C.  introduced a new version of the DREAM Act  after which the DREAMers are named. And a companion bill was filed in  the House  by Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen  R-Fla.  and Lucille Roybal-Allard  D-Calif.
Graham added  "The Congress is going to have to up its game." He said he agreed with the  Trump  administration that Obama's executive action was an "unconstitutional overreach " and said  President Trump  was "also right to give us six months to figure out a solution to this."
Durbin introduced an earlier version of the DREAM Act â the "Development  Relief  and Education for Alien Minors Act" â in late 2010; that bill failed to get enough votes to allow a floor vote. But the legislative project goes back much longer than the middle of Obama's first term as president. Durbin first filed legislation about the DREAMers in 2001. "Other versions passed  the House  in 2010 and in the Senate  as part of a larger immigration bill  in 2013. But no bill has ever been passed by both chambers " according to the Washington Post.