Dreamers could be in for some good news from President-Elect, Donald Trump. His comments, on Wednesday, show that he appears to be softening his attitude to the possible deportation of over 700,000 young undocumented immigrants who came to the US as minors and were allowed to stay by the deferred action program, created by President Barack Obama.
In an interview with TIME magazine, Trump said that his administration was going to create a policy to make people proud and happy. He noted that many Dreamers were good students or wonderful workers, now in limbo because of the change in administration. The issue of what to do with Dreamers may be one of the first tests of the Trump Presidency, especially given the new President’s tough stance on illegal immigration.
Democrats and Republicans alike have called on Trump not to turn on these young adult immigrants. The controversial billionaire has softened some of his harsher campaign promises. But, many of his supporters may be unimpressed if he goes back on his vow to take a tougher position on illegal immigration.
The interview in TIME, which named Trump as its Person of the Year for 2016, did not see the President-Elect go into specifics about his former pledge to overturn the executive actions taken on immigration reform by President Obama. This includes the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, 2012. Trump could either do nothing, allowing the order to stand, or withdraw it and allow the Dreamers issue to be addressed by Congress.