Durbin: DACA crisis ‘manufactured by Republicans’

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Sunday said this week’s pressure on the Trump administration to either defend or rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is a “crisis manufactured by Republicans.”

In a series of tweets calling for President Trump to defend the program, Durbin warned of the consequences of ending it.

“I call on @POTUS to keep his promise to Dreamers and #defendDACA,” Durbin tweeted Sunday.

“#DACA protects 800,000 young immigrants who are American in every way except their immigration status.”

I call on @POTUS to keep his promise to Dreamers and #defendDACA pic.twitter.com/e5i1OAAwXJ

— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) September 3, 2017

{mosads}Durbin noted Republicans in several states have threatened to sue the president unless he rescinds the program and stops renewing and reissuing DACA permits. The deadline set by the states for court action is this week.

“If #DACA is ended in this way, it will not show heart for the #Dreamers. It will be a humanitarian and economic disaster,” Durbin tweeted, referring to Trump’s promise to make a decision “with heart” on the program.

He referred to a DACA recipient in Houston who worked as a paramedic and spent days rescuing people in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Durbin questioned whether his deportation would make the U.S. stronger.

“This is a crisis manufactured by Republicans and it can only be solved by Republicans. @POTUS has the power to keep #DACA in place,” Durbin tweeted, offering immigration reform through congressional action. “[House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)] and [Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)] have the power to bring up the bipartisan #DREAMact I introduced with [Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)]. Let’s get to work.”

Trump is expected on Tuesday to announced whether the administration is ending the DACA program. The decision comes amid mounting pressure and speculation that he will scrap the Obama-era program, which extends temporary deportation relief to people illegally brought to the U.S. as minors who applied for work permits.