The wait for a decision on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program may be over.
President Donald Trump is expected to end the program that protects undocumented children who were brought to the US, according to several media reports. The decision would come with a six-month delay to give Congress time to act on possible new legislation to address the plight of those young people, according to the Associated Press, but it's not clear what would happen to those who currently hold work permits under the program during that period.
And while the deal isn’t done, the reaction is already pouring in.
Connecticut leaders spoke out about the president’s expected decision.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D) are both vocal supporters of DACA and tweeted their displeasure at the expected decision.
These young immigrants are known as dreamers – they were brought into the country illegally by their parents or guardians. Many have grown up in the US, work in the US, and have no memory of the countries they were born in
As of July 2015, the program protects about 790,000 young immigrants from deportation.
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"Having that extra burden of having your future toyed with and argued around like it's just some sort of political move, um … it's disheartening. And I wish the president would come down and I wish other people would come down and really check our hearts to see that we're not here to do anything but work and give back to the community," said Jesus Contreras, who works as a paramedic in Texas.
The Obama administration created the DACA program in 2012 as a stopgap way to protect some young immigrants from deportation as it continued to push for a broader immigration overhaul in Congress.
Even some Republicans are urging President Trump to wait on the decision, which is expected Monday.
