WASHINGTON (AP) – With a deadline looming, President Donald Trump remains torn over the fate of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children – a decision that will draw fury no matter what he decides.
Trump railed against the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program during his campaign, slamming it as illegal “amnesty.” But he changed his tune after the election, calling DACA one of the most difficult issues he’s grappled with. The program has given nearly 800,000 people a reprieve from deportations. It has also provided the ability to work legally in the U.S. in the form of two-year, renewable work permits – permits the Trump administration has continued to grant as the president has mulled the issue.
As recently as Tuesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the program remained under review.
Activists on both sides of the issue – as well as some people close to the White House – strongly expect the president to announce as soon as this week that he will move to dismantle the program, perhaps by halting new applications and renewals.
But others caution that Trump remains torn as he faces a September 5 deadline set by a group of Republican state lawmakers, who are threatening to challenge DACA in court if the administration does not start to dismantle it by then.