Former President Barack Obama released a statement condemning President Trump’s order to end his executive action that protects people who immigrated illegally to the U.S. as children.
In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Obama conceded that immigration is a complicated and controversial topic over which people of goodwill can have reasonable disagreements. But Obama argued that the White House’s most recent action to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA, does not fall into this category.
“Ultimately, this is about basic decency. This is about whether we are a people who kick hopeful young strivers out of America, or whether we treat them the way we’d want our own kids to be treated. It’s about who we are as a people — and who we want to be,” Obama said.
The former president also pointed out that the immigrants affected by the Trump administration’s latest action were brought to the United States as children — sometimes infants — and are often not familiar with their home country’s culture or language. They often don’t even know they are undocumented until they need to fill out an application for work, college or a driver’s license.
Demonstrators march in response to the Trump administration’s announcement that it would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. (Photo: Zach Gibson/Getty Images
