Former President Barack Obama is expected to denounce the possible decision by President Donald Trump to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an immigration initiative enacted under his administration.
Politico reported late Sunday night that Trump is expected to announce on Tuesday that he will end the program in six months. DACA grants two-year work permits to undocumented immigrants, or “Dreamers” who came to country as children.
If Trump does end the program, it would contradict several statements he’s made in the past, including reassuring Dreamers that they could “rest easy.”
Obama, who issued DACA as part of an executive order in 2012, is expected to post a statement about Trump’s possible decision on social media, Politico reports.
During his last presidential press availability, Obama suggested that DACA was an issue that he could not remain silent about should Trump’s administration try to end it.
“The notion that we would just arbitrarily or because of politics punish those kids, when they didn’t do something themselves … would merit my speaking out,” he said.
The potential decision to terminate DACA has been met with resistance from both Democrats and Republicans and other groups, including tech companies. House Speaker Paul Ryan said last week that he didn’t think Trump should end the immigration program and that Congress should be responsible for acting on immigration issues.
However, the move is likely to please the core of Trump’s base, as immigration issues such as Trump’s proposal to build a border wall, which he has threatened to shut down the government in order to get funding for, was critically important to a large swath of those who voted for him.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Politico that no decision about DACA has been finalized and an official announcement would come on Tuesday.
You can read all of Politico’s report here.