Trump Decides To End DACA Program Protecting 800K-Plus From Deportation: Reports

AUSTIN, TX — On a Sunday night the White House previously declared to be a national day of prayer for Texans displaced or killed by Hurricane Harvey, reports emerged that Donald Trump has decided to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program protecting hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation.

According to a number of media reports on Sunday, Trump has already decided to end DACA—an Obama-era initiative designed to defer deportations of youthful immigrants who arrived into the U.S. as children (known as Dreamers). Reports indicate that while the decision has been made to end DACA, that enforcement will be delayed by six months.

Launched in 2012, DACA has given more than 800,000 immigrants—about 120,000 of them in Texas—renewable, two-year work permits as a reprieve from immediate deportation. Those eligible for DACA arrived in the U.S. before the age of 16 or 30 or younger as of June 2012.

Politico was among the media outlets reporting Sunday that Trump has already decided the program should end. An announcement on the program's fate had been expected on Friday before the White House said an announcement would be made on Tuesday instead.

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Texas AG Leads 10-State Coalition Urging Trump To End Protections For Childhood Arrivals

Ending DACA (and DAPA) was among the campaign pledges resonating most powerfully with Trump's

political base during his time as a presidential candidate. He's already ended Obama's Deferred Action for

Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA, sometimes called Deferred Action for

Parental Accountability) granting deferred action status to undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. since

2010 with children who are either American citizens or lawful permanent residents.

The DAPA-eligible were given three-year renewable work permits effectively exempting them from immediate deportation.

While polls indicate the majority of Americans support DACA, some members of Trump's own political party have aggressively demanded its dismantling. Among the most prominent DACA foes is Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who in June recruited several counterparts from other states to threaten to sue Trump by Tuesday should he opt not to end the program.

Paxton and nine other attorneys general from other states posit DACA as an unlawful overreach by former President Barack Obama.

This is a developing story. Patch will update as more information is made available.

>>> Photo by Gage Skidmore