Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Monday that the Trump administration is rescinding the unconstitutional executive amnesty that granted deferred action and work permits to nearly 800,000 illegal aliens living in the United States. Former Pres. Obama began the amnesty in 2012, and Pres. Trump pledged to end it while running for President.
AG Sessions announced that the administration will no longer accept new applications for the DACA amnesty. The administration, however, will allow any current DACA recipient whose work permit expires between now and March 5, 2018 to renew their two-year work permit by Oct. 5. The Department of Homeland Security expects that it will take the rest of the year to process the renewal applications that it receives.
"President Trump has delivered a wonderful Labor Day present to unemployed American Millennials by ordering the end of former President Obama's unconstitutional issuing of work permits under the DACA amnesty. NumbersUSA applauds the President for keeping his campaign promise. Now it is time for Congress to focus on strong immigration enforcement measures and reforms to our legal immigration system that put American workers first."
-- Roy Beck, President & Founder of NumbersUSA
The Trump administration was facing a deadline of today imposed by the state of Texas and eight other states. Those states threatened to challenge the DACA amnesty in court if the administration did not rescind the program. Texas was joined by 25 other states in challenging Pres. Obama's DAPA executive amnesty program that was announced in November 2014. Federal Judge Andrew Hanen paused the DAPA amnesty in 2015, and his decision was upheld by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and affirmed by the Supreme Court. Texas threatened to amend that ongoing lawsuit by adding a challenge to DACA. The Trump administration officially rescinded the DAPA executive amnesty earlier this year.
Read AG Sessions' remarks in their entirety here.
