House speaker urges Trump not to rescind immigrant protection plan

US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan has called on President Donald Trump not to rescind former President Barack Obama’s immigration program which protects immigrants who entered the country illegally as children.

"I actually do not think he should do that, and I believe that this is something Congress has to fix," Ryan said in an interview with WCLO radio in Janesville, Wisconsin, on Friday.

Trump is expected to announce by Monday whether to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects nearly 800,000 individuals, so-called Dreamers, from deportation and makes them eligible for education and work permits if they pass background checks.

DACA was founded by Obama in June 2012. The program applies to undocumented immigrants, who were brought to the US before their 16th birthday, were younger than 31 before 2012, have not been convicted of any crimes; and are in school, graduated from school or are honorably discharged veterans of the military.

"These are kids who know no other country, who were brought here by their parents and don't know another home. And so I really do believe that there needs to be a legislative solution. That is one that we are working on. And I think we want to give people peace of mind," Ryan said.

Republican Senator Orrin Hatch also said in a statement that abolishing the program would further complicate a US immigration system which is already in dire need of reforms.

"Like the president, I have long advocated for tougher enforcement of our existing immigration laws. But we also need a workable, permanent solution for individuals who entered our country unlawfully as children through no fault of their own and who have built their lives here. And that solution must come from Congress," Hatch said.

Trump had promised to get rid of DACA during his presidential campaign. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters last Friday that the program continues to be under review.

Trump’s immigration policies have sparked protests both inside the US and abroad since he took office in January.

On Wednesday, hundreds of US activists and immigrants marched in New York City to express their resentment against Trump’s plan to scrap DACA.

Many of them criticized Trump as a demagogue who has unfairly portrayed undocumented immigrants as criminals and inherently suspicious.

The Republican president has pledged to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and keep Latin American immigrants from illegally entering the country by building a wall on the border with Mexico.

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