Trump 'to scrap' amnesty for young immigrants

US President Donald Trump has decided to scrap a programme that protects young undocumented immigrants, according to reports

Young immigrants holding up their applications to Daca. Source: KQED
Young immigrants holding up their applications to Daca. Source: KQED

US President Donald Trump has decided to scrap the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca), which protects young, undocumented immigrants, say sources quoted by the US media.

Trump will reportedly give Congress six months to draw up legislation in order to replace Daca, a decision which is considered a compromise, amid strong support for the scheme.

Though Trump is due to formally announce his decision on Tuesday, sources have cautioned that he could still change his mind.

The Obama-era Daca programme protects hundreds of thousands from deportation and provides them with work and study permits.

According to Politico, the White House informed House Speaker Paul Ryan urged Trump not to remove the scheme, claiming that it left many young people “in limbo”.

“These are kids who know no other country, who were brought here by their parents and don’t know another home”, said Ryan, one of a growing number of Republican lawmakers and business leaders to speak out against the scrapping of Daca.

While campaigning for office, Trump took a hard-line on immigration and claimed that he would “immediately terminate” the programme. In spite of this, he said he intends on showing “great heart” in dealing with what he described as “incredible kids”.

Giving Congress six months to draft up an alternative is being seen as a compromise following comments from business leaders including General Motors, Microsoft and Google urging Trump to retain the programme.

What is the Daca programme?

It protects around 750,000 people in the US from being deported and privides them with temporary permits for work and study. In order to qualify, applicants under 30 must submit personal information to the Department of Homeland Security. They are then subject to an FBI background check and whether or not they have been in school, have a clean criminal record, or been honourably discharged from the military.

The majority of what are referred to as “Dreamer immigrants” in the US are from Mexico and other Latin American countries.