This week, the Trump administration announced an end of the Obama-era program which protected young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children from deportation. The policy is known as DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
“The DACA program was implemented in 2012 and essentially provided a legal status for recipients for a renewable two-year term, worker authorization and other benefits, including participation in the Social Security program, to 800,000 mostly adult illegal aliens,” Sessions said.
“The policy was implemented unilaterally, to great controversy and legal concern after Congress rejected legislative proposals to extend similar benefits, on numerous occasions, to this same group of illegal aliens,” the Attorney General continued.
“The executive branch, through DACA, deliberately sought to achieve what the legislative branch specifically refused to authorize on multiple occasions. Such an open-ended circumvention of immigration laws, was an unconstitutional exercise of authority by the executive branch.”
The Trump administration said it wants Congress to come up with a fix for DACA and is giving the legislature a six month deadline.
But also on Thursday, Trump struck a deal with Democrat legislative leaders to keep the government funded and could lead the way to another deal about DACA.
The House on Friday cleared a short-term measure to avoid a government shutdown and raise the debt limit through December, ratifying an agreement President Trump struck with Democrats.
San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro, a Democrat, talks to "Texas Matters" to explain.
