While Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) “disagreed” with former President Barack Obama’s “unilateral action” on introducing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program through executive order in 2012, he said Tuesday that ending the program now is the “wrong approach to immigration policy.”
“I strongly believe that children who were illegally brought into this country through no fault of their own should not be forced to return to a country they do not know,” he said in a statement following Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement that the administration was ending the program that protects undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children from deportation.
“The 800,000 innocent young people granted deferred action under DACA over the last several years are pursuing degrees, starting careers, and contributing to our communities in important ways,” he said.
McCain, a longtime champion of increasing border security and reformation of the country’s immigration system, said that rescinding DACA at this time “is an unacceptable reversal of the promises and opportunities that have been conferred to these individuals,” he said.
“The federal government has a responsibility to defend and secure our borders, but we must do so in a way that upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation. I will be working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to devise and pass comprehensive immigration reform, which will include the DREAM Act,” he said, referencing legislation that was first introduced in the Senate in 2001 and has been brought back for debate several times, but has never passed.
The DREAM Act looked at granting conditional, and eventual permanent, residency to undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as minors, by attending college or serving in the military.
