While the official decision wasn’t supposed to be made until Tuesday, Politico’s Eliana Johnson reported late Sunday evening that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that originated under President Barack Obama was to be terminated, and that there would be a six-month enforcement delay. The program, which was created under an executive action, allows illegal aliens who entered as minors to be shielded from deportation if they met certain criteria. If approved, they would be eligible for work and study permits. Around 800,000 illegal aliens benefit from this program. Now, with these rumblings, Obama is reportedly set to comment on the end of DACA through social media, so stay tuned. I’m sure his charm will solve the issue of illegal immigration (cue eyerolls) (via The Hill):
Former President Obama is expected to speak out against President Trump’s reported decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Politico reports.
A person close to Obama said he plans to post a statement on Facebook and link to it on Twitter, according to Politico.
During his last news conference as president, Obama said an attack on the “Dreamers” program would cause him to speak out publicly.
"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, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Prior to the 2018 midterms, aides to Obama said that the president would do a “delicate dance” to help his party, with commenters saying that this “light footprint” approach could provide a buffer to allow other Democratic leaders to emerge. When it comes to ex-presidents, especially one as polarizing as Obama, there is no such thing as a light footprint. So, on top of Nancy Pelosi, it looks like the GOP will have another motivating factor come 2018: Barry Obama.