WASHINGTON – During an interview with the Associated Press, President Donald Trump addressed concerns of young undocumented immigrants referred to as DREAMers. In the interview, Trump was quoted telling the undocumented youth to “rest easy” saying they will not be targets under his immigration policies.
President Trump went on to say his administration is “not after the dreamers, we are after criminals.”
Deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) was an executive order signed by former President Barack Obama in 2012 that allowed young undocumented immigrants a chance to work and made them a low priority for deportation officers.
Tensions within the DACA community have been high after the arrest and deportation of a DACA recipient, Juan Manuel Montes, 23. Montes has since sued the federal government to find out more information on his deportation.
Montes has said he was deported after being stopped by immigration officers, he had left his wallet in a friend’s car and was unable to prove he had been granted deferred action. Subsequently, he was sent to Mexico a short time later.
When asked about the Montes case Trump told the AP Montes’ case is “a little different than the DREAMer case,” but did not specify why, according to the AP.