McCain: Trump’s DACA decision the ‘wrong approach’

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Tuesday criticized President Trump’s decision to end special protections for people who came to the country illegally as children as “the wrong approach to immigration policy.” 

McCain, a coauthor of the Senate’s comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2013, said, “I strongly believe that children who were illegally brought into this country through no fault of their own should not be forced to return to a country they do not know.”

{mosads}While McCain disagreed with then-President Obama’s executive order in June of 2012 to protect some people who immigrated illegally as children from deportation, he says that rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program “is an unacceptable reversal of the promises and opportunities that have been conferred to these individuals.” 

McCain said he will work with Senate Republican and Democratic colleagues on a comprehensive immigration bill that will include language to allow undocumented immigrants who came to the country at a young age a pathway to becoming legal residents.

The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday stopped working on new applications to the program.

DACA protects an estimated 800,000 people from deportation.

Trump on Tuesday urged Congress to pass legislation to resolve the situation.

“Congress, get ready to do your job – DACA!” he tweeted.