President Donald Trump has succeeded in
cancelling one of the immigration policies of
the previous administration of Obama.
The Trump administration announced on
Thursday that it is cancelling an Obama-era
policy to allow millions of illegal-immigrant
parents of children born in the United States
to stay in the country.
The 2014 policy, known as DAPA, for Deferred
Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful
Permanent Residents, aimed to help the
families of so-called "dreamer" children stay
together free from the threat of deportation.
It was never implemented after 26 states
successfully sued in a Texas federal district
court to block it. The US Supreme Court let
the lower court ruling stand last year after a
four-four tie vote.
Set out in a memo from the administration of
then-president Barack Obama, the policy said
the government would defer any action
against illegal immigrant parents of children
who are lawful permanent residents - mainly
those born in the country to parents without
legal status.
DAPA would have affected as many as four
million people by some estimates, those with
US-born children who were in the country
before 2010.
But the Department of Homeland Security
announced it was rescinding the policy with
the support of the Justice Department. DHS
Secretary John Kelly explained the move
saying "there is no credible path forward to
litigate the currently enjoined policy."
It comes amid a tough crackdown on illegal
immigration ordered by President Donald
Trump. Kelly did not say whether the
government has plans to replace DAPA with
another measure that would allow families
living in the country for decades to remain
together without the threat of deportation.
However, DHS said on Thursday that it is
leaving in place a 2012 Obama policy known
as DACA - Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals - that allowed people who entered
the country illegally as children to stay and
study or work on two-year renewals.
It aimed to allow between one and two million
younger people who arrived in the country
illegally to stay in school and complete their
studies.
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