President Trump in a tweet on Sunday said the Obama-era policy that protects young immigrants known as “Dreamers” is “probably dead” and blamed its demise on Democrats.
“DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don’t really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military.’’ Trump wrote on Twitter.
He was referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program he rescinded last September while calling on Congress to make some legislative changes before it expires on March 5.
DACA, which shields from deportation young immigrants brought to the United States illegally by their parents, is a key part of any immigration reform for Democrats.
But Trump has tied any deal to keep DACA with his campaign vow to build a border wall on the country’s southern border.
In his series of tweets, Trump also renewed his call for a “merit” based immigration system.
“I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries! #AMERICA FIRST,” he said.
The tweets come after the president during a White House meeting with bipartisan lawmakers last Thursday on immigration questioned why the US is accepting immigrants from “s-thole countries including El Salvador, Haiti and Africa.
On Saturday, US Citizenship and Immigration Services said it would begin taking new applications for people eligible for DACA after a federal judge last week in California ordered a temporary injunction against Trump’s efforts to end the program.
The program, which went into effect in 2012, protects about 800,000 immigrants.
Source: New York Post
