Trump’s Decision To Terminate DACA Condemned By Former Presidents

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Tuesday the Trump administration's plan to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an Obama-era policy that protected nearly 800,000 unauthorized immigrant children from deportation.

Later, President Donald Trump, in a statement, tried to explain the decision was not heartless. "As president, my highest duty is to defend the American people and the Constitution of the United States of America," he said. "At the same time, I do not favor punishing children, most of whom are now adults, for the actions of their parents. But we must also recognize that we are a nation of opportunity because we are a nation of laws."

Trump's decision prompted criticism from all quarters and also sparked protests in several parts of the country. DACA was announced by former President Barack Obama in 2012. In an elaborate statement, Obama tried to explain these immigrant children may not know any other country besides the United States.

“These Dreamers (a term used to refer to the immigrants protected under DACA) are Americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper. They were brought to this country by their parents, sometimes even as infants. They may not know a country besides ours. They may not even know a language besides English. They often have no idea they’re undocumented until they apply for a job, or college or a driver’s license," he said.

According to Los Angeles Times, Obama also mentioned how his administration always worked to shelter these kids from the threat of deportation “so that they could continue to contribute to our communities and our country. We did so based on the well-established legal principle of prosecutorial discretion, deployed by Democratic and Republican presidents alike, because our immigration enforcement agencies have limited resources, and it makes sense to focus those resources on those who come illegally to this country to do us harm.”

Referring to the termination of the program, Trump also told the Congress to resolve the fate of these undocumented immigrants. In his statement, Obama lashed out at the Trump administration as he urged the Congress to do their diligent duties and protect the young minds from getting booted out of the country because the administration’s “action is contrary to our spirit, and to common sense.”

Former President Bill Clinton also released a statement Tuesday where he called these young people "a part of the American Dream."

“DACA has brought hundreds of thousands of young people out of the shadows — allowing them to live without fear, go to school, work, and contribute to America in countless other ways. These young people's dreams are part of the American Dream," he asserted, "And they make it more real for all of us. Today's decision by the White House to terminate DACA -- and that is effectively what it attempts to do — will crush their dreams and weaken the American Dream for the rest of us.”

He added Trump’s policy to end the “Dreamers” programs made no sense because it did not offer any new solution to the sensitive issue of immigration and instead, just created new ones, Washington Examiner reported. “It's cruel to send these young people to places many of them have never lived and do not know,” Clinton said. “For them this is home. The United States is their home.”

While Clinton and Obama have been Democratic Presidents, a video clip that has been going viral on the internet shows that Republican Presidents — Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush — were more empathetic toward the “Dreamers” than the current president.

Even though Reagan, who was elected as the U.S. president in 1981, disagreed on several issues with Bush — who also served as his vice president — they did come to a consensus when it about was the lives of immigrant children. In 1980, during a primary debate sponsored by the League of Woman voters, when both of them were asked if “children of illegal aliens should be allowed to attend Texas public schools for free,” here's how they responded.

"If they're living here, I don't want to see 6- and 8-year-old kids being made totally uneducated and made to feel like they're living totally outside the law," Bush said. "These are good people, strong people."

Reagan echoed Bush’s vision, adding: "Rather than talking about putting up a fence, why don't we work out some recognition of our mutual problems? Make it possible for them to come here legally with a work permit. And then, while they're working and earning here, they can pay taxes here. And then when they want to go back, they can go back. Open the borders both ways."