Paul Ryan: Congress Must Act; DACA Was ‘Clear Abuse of Executive Authority’

House Speaker Paul Ryan agreed with Attorney General Jeff Sessions that former President Barack Obama’s DACA program was illegal.

“However well-intentioned, President Obama’s DACA program was a clear abuse of executive authority, an attempt to create law out of thin air,” Ryan said in a statement. “Just as the courts have already struck down similar Obama policy, this was never a viable long-term solution to this challenge.”

The speaker reasserted that Congress has the authority to write laws, “not the president,” and argued that Trump was fulfilling his campaign promise.

But Ryan noted that DACA permits were not revoked immediately, allowing recipients to stay longer.

He urged Congress to help save recipients of DACA with a permanent legislative solution, asserting that they were blameless for being in the country illegally.

“At the heart of this issue are young people who came to this country through no fault of their own, and for many of them, it’s the only country they know,” he said. “Their status is one of many immigration issues, such as border security and interior enforcement, which Congress has failed to adequately address over the years.”