Trump scraps program protecting 800,000 Dreamers; Obama slams ‘cruel’ move

Donald Trump has scrapped a program that protects around 800,000 young people who were brought into the US illegally as children, in a move branded “cruel” by his predecessor Barack Obama.

Key points:

• The decision won’t be implemented until March 2018
• Barack Obama created DACA through an executive order in 2012
• Jeff Sessions said the move was necessary to show respect for immigration laws

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, also known as Dreamers, was put in place via executive action by Mr Obama.

Mr Trump ordered a phased-out dismantling that gives a gridlocked Congress six months to decide the immigrants’ fate.

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Mr Obama was quick to condemn the decision, releasing an 850-word statement on social media in which he said the move was “cruel” and “self-defeating”.

“Let’s be clear: the action taken today isn’t required legally,” Mr Obama wrote on Facebook.

“It’s a political decision, and a moral question.

Source: DACA: Donald Trump scraps program protecting 800,000 Dreamers; Obama slams ‘cruel’ move – Donald Trump’s America – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)