Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal revealed that President Barack Obama will help president-elect Donald Trump get acclimated to his new role. And while Obama walks Trump and his camp through the basics of the role, we’re hoping that some of Obama rubs off on his successor. On Monday, Obama held a press conference urging Trump to keep the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program he introduced in 2012.
“On the Deferred Action Program that we have known as DACA that relates to DREAMers who are currently benefitting from these provisions, I will urge the president-elect and the incoming administration to think long and hard before they [endanger] the status of what, for all practical purposes, are American kids,” he said. “I mean, these are kids who were brought here by their parents. They did nothing wrong. They’ve gone to school. They have pledged allegiance to the flag. Some of them have joined the military. They’ve enrolled in school. By definition, if they’re part of this program, they are solid, wonderful young people of good character. And it is my strong belief that the majority of the American people would not want to see suddenly those kids have to start hiding again. And that’s something that I will encourage the president elect to look at.”
As USA Today reports, Trump could unilaterally move to end DACA with a simple memo. Washington University of Law professor emeritus Stephen Legomsky explains that the program came from an executive memorandum created by Obama’s secretary of Homeland security. All Trump would have to do is rescind the memo or issue a new one.
Legomsky doesn’t believe Trump will focus on DACA recipients. But for those who stand to lose so much, this theory isn’t reassuring. According to the Los Angeles Times, recipients are legitimately worried about DACA ending.