What is DACA? A breakdown of an immigration protection that Pres. Trump ended

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Wednesday, September 6, 2017
What is DACA?
What is DACA?

DACA, or the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is an Obama-era executive order that protected immigrants who arrived illegally in the U.S. as children from deportation.

The policy was established to address the immigration enforcement action against those illegally residing in the U.S. but were largely raised in the country. They were deemed "low priority" people with good behavior for deportation.

At the beginning of the order, 1.7 million people were estimated to be eligible for the protection, according to the Pew Research Center. Half of the original 741,546 applicants who were granted DACA protection reside in Texas or California.

There were attempts to expand the program under the Obama Administration. Twenty-six states, spearheaded by Texas, threatened legal action if DACA continued.

On Tuesday, President Trump formally rescinded the order but gave Congress six months to come up with a law addressing these specific individuals.

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