'Cruel' And 'Self Defeating': Obama Speaks Out On Trump's DACA Rollback
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Latest on reaction to the Trump administration's decision to end a program protecting young immigrants from deportation (all times local):
1:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he has a "great love" for the young immigrants protected by the DACA program.
Speaking before a meeting with administration officials and congressional leaders Tuesday, Trump says he has a "great heart" for the young people. He says he hopes "Congress will be able to help them and do it properly."
The Trump administration announced Tuesday it's phasing out the program and leaving it to Congress to come up with an alternative. The program has provided nearly 800,000 young immigrants a reprieve from deportation.
Trump says he has spoken with members of Congress who "want to be able to do something and do it right." He adds that he thinks "long-term, it's going to be the right solution."
1:25 p.m.
A Republican senator is urging President Donald Trump to get personally involved in advancing legislation that would put a select group of young immigrants on a path to U.S. citizenship.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says Trump should "work the phones" to get the votes needed to pass the bill Graham is sponsoring with Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat.
Their legislation would allow young immigrants who grew up in the U.S. to earn lawful permanent residence and eventually American citizenship if they meet several requirements. They have to have come to the United States as children, graduate from high school and pass background checks.
Graham says the bill "is a good down payment on what will eventually be a comprehensive solution to a broken immigration system."
12:45 p.m.
A Democratic congressman is calling White House Chief of Staff John Kelly a liar after President Donald Trump's decision to rescind the government program protecting hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois lashed out at Kelly, the former head of the Homeland Security Department, on Tuesday. The lawmaker says Kelly has "no honor and should be drummed out of the White House along with the white supremacists and those enabling the president's actions by `just following orders."'
Gutierrez says Kelly told members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus that the mass deportation of so-called "Dreamers" would be prevented. The lawmaker says Kelly, a former Marine, is a "disgrace to the uniform he used to wear."
12:20 p.m.
Former President Obama condemned the Trump administration's decision to rescind one of his signature policies, that enabled undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to remain here with temporary permits.
"Let's be clear: the action taken today isn't required legally," the former president wrote in a Facebook post. "It's a political decision, and a moral question."
"Whatever concerns or complaints Americans may have about immigration in general, we shouldn't threaten the future of this group of young people who are here through no fault of their own, who pose no threat, who are not taking away anything from the rest of us," the post reads.
12 p.m.
University of California President Janet Napolitano has denounced what she calls President Donald Trump's "misguided" decision to end a program protecting immigrants who were illegally brought to the U.S. as children.
Napolitano is urging Congress to pass bipartisan legislation to protect young immigrants from deportation.
The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it will phase out the program in six months.
Elsewhere, the presidents of the University of Connecticut and the Connecticut State University system joined Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in decrying Trump's decision.
11:05 a.m.
Hundreds of teachers and students are demonstrating outside Metro State University in Denver to protest President Donald Trump's decision to repeal a program protecting young immigrants from deportation.
Protesters held posters Tuesday saying, "Accept my resistance and expect my resistance" and "No borders, no nations, no racists, no deportations."
Demonstrations are occurring nationwide, including outside Trump Tower in Manhattan, near the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Phoenix, and in Miami, where young immigrants from Honduras, Mexico and Colombia are expressing shock and sadness.
In Los Angeles, marchers are gathering downtown.
10:30 a.m.
Protests are underway after President Donald Trump's decision to phase out a program for thousands of young immigrants who were brought into the United States illegally as children.
Police in New York handcuffed and removed over a dozen immigration activists who briefly blocked Fifth Avenue in Manhattan in front of Trump Tower. The protest Tuesday began with a march down the street and grew to about 400 people. Some cried as they held hands during a sit-in.
In Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel told youths at a high school with a large number of students in the country illegally that they are welcome. The mayor says Chicago schools will be a "Trump-free zone."
In Los Angeles, city and county officials plan to express their opposition at midday.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.
