Houston Mayor Turner Calls Federal Action Against DACA 'Regrettable And Unwise'

HOUSTON, TX — Taking time out of day from touring the city's damage from Hurricane Harvey, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner reacted to the White House decision of phasing out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program on Tuesday.

"The decision by the federal government to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is regrettable and unwise. It will affect about 80,000 young immigrants in the greater Houston area," Turner said. "Young immigrants who had sought deferrals from possible deportation proceedings have made significant contributions to our city and our country. Congress must enact a permanent solution, other than deportation, for immigrants brought to this country as children. They are part of the American fabric and future."

President Barack Obama signed an executive order to initiate the DACA program during his tenure. It's set up to protect more than 800,000 youthful immigrants nationwide from immediate deportation through the use of two-year renewable work permits. About 80,000 of these dubbed DREAMers who live in Houston arrived to the United States as children.

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Donald Trump made a campaign pledge to end the program, but he ultimately left it up toAttorney General Jeff Sessions to disclose the details of the program's dismantling. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump acted to end the program today because of a deadline set by several state attorneys general to sue if a decision wasn't made by Tuesday to end DACA.

Image: Demonstrators sit on Pennsylvania Avenue during a demonstration in response to the Trump Administration's announcement that it would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on September 5, 2017 in Washington, DC. DACA, an immigration policy passed by former President Barack Obama, allows certain undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as minors to receive renewable two-year deferred action from deportation and eligibility fork a work permit.

Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images