Los Angeles

As President Trump Considers Future of DACA, Program Supporters Rally in Los Angeles

President Trump faces a Sept. 5 deadline set by a group of Republican state lawmakers, who are threatening to challenge DACA in court

A group of DACA recipients and family members rallied Friday morning with supporters in downtown Los Angeles as President Trump considers the future of the program.

The rally is part of a week-long series of activities in defense of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The rally began at 10 a.m. outside the Edward Roybal Federal Building on Temple Street.

President Trump is expected to announce a decision soon on the future of the program. At the White House Friday, he said to expect his DACA decision "sometime today or over the weekend."

DACA 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.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said earlier this week that DACA was still undergoing "a very lengthy review" process.

"It's something that's still being discussed and a final decision hasn't been made," she said.

Activists on both sides of the issue have said they expect the president to announce 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 Sept. 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.

To qualify for DACA, immigrants must have no criminal records and proof that they were brought to the U.S. before they reached age 16. Their work permits and protection from deportation must be renewed every two years. 

The Obama administration created the DACA program in 2012 as a stopgap way to protect some young immigrants from deportation as it continued to push for a broader immigration overhaul in Congress.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us