Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s decision to wind down former President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is a “cruel betrayal” to more than 800,000 DACA recipients, at least 200,000 of whom live in California. She also accused Trump of siding with “division and hate.”
Harris added that Trump is telling DACA recipients that they are not welcome in America.
“They came out of the shadows and submitted every detail of their personal lives to prove that they were lawful, productive members of our society,” she said in a statement. “By turning his back on our young Dreamers and their families, President Trump has once again sided with division and hate.”
Harris said the consequences of Trump’s “heartless” decision “will be devastating,” and she urged Republicans in Congress to vote for the DREAM Act.
“Now more than ever, it is time we roll up our sleeves and stand with these young people who contribute to our community and our economy,” she said. “Republicans in Congress must immediately allow a vote on the DREAM Act, a bipartisan bill we introduced again this summer. We are better than this.”
Harris has vowed to fight “tooth and nail” to preserve DACA because deporting DACA recipients would be “inhumane.” At a recent town hall event, Harris also said activists must keep “shouting” to protect DACA recipients.
Republicans could demand funding for a border wall in exchange for a legislative fix for DACA recipients, but Harris has also said on numerous occasions that Trump’s border wall is a “stupid waste of taxpayer money.”