Former President Barack Obama on Tuesday ripped President Donald Trump's decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) that shielded undocumented immigrants who were brought into the country as children from deportations.
In a Facebook post, Obama said Trump's decision to end DACA had nothing to do with stopping illegal immigration, and was only an attack on completely innocent people who were brought to the United States illegally through no fault of their own.
"This is about young people who grew up in America – kids who study in our schools, young adults who are starting careers, patriots who pledge allegiance to our flag," he wrote. "These Dreamers are Americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper."
Obama then pointed out that he only created DACA in the first place because the Senate failed to overcome a Republican filibuster of the original DREAM Act, which would have offered a permanent fix to the problem.
Most importantly, however, Obama said that Trump's actions on DACA were simply cruel and had no justification.
"To target these young people is wrong – because they have done nothing wrong," he wrote. "It is self-defeating – because they want to start new businesses, staff our labs, serve in our military, and otherwise contribute to the country we love. And it is cruel. What if our kid’s science teacher, or our friendly neighbor turns out to be a Dreamer? Where are we supposed to send her? To a country she doesn’t know or remember, with a language she may not even speak?"
Read the whole statement below.
