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Trump announced plans to halt the Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA) program that has protected from deportation
nearly 800,000 young men and women who entered the United States
illegally as children.
Mexico's deputy foreign minister, Carlos Sada, said Trump's
decision created "anxiety, anguish and fear" for the roughly
625,000 Mexican nationals protected under the program.
"They are exceptional. ... This is as emotional for the United
States as for Mexico," Sada said at a news conference
immediately following the announcement to end the program.
He said his government would press U.S. lawmakers for a quick
solution to the uncertainty that "Dreamers," as they are
commonly called, now face in their adopted home.
Immigrants who opt to return to Mexico will be welcomed with
"open arms," Sada said, offering them assistance with work,
finances and education.
The announcement to end DACA, created by former President Barack
Obama in a 2012 executive order, came during the final day of
talks in the Mexican capital to modernize the North American
Free Trade Agreement, adding pressure to already tense
conversations between Mexico and the United States.
El Salvador's foreign relations minister, Hugo Martinez, said he
would meet with U.S. Congress members to find a solution within
the next six months, before DACA's provisions are set to end,
aiming to protect the 30,000 to 60,000 Salvadorans who could be
affected.
"It's a worrisome situation. ... We will be lobbying to have
legislation as soon as possible that opens a way out," Martinez
said.
Guatemala’s foreign relations ministry said in a statement that
it is counting on the "humanitarian sensibilities" of U.S.
lawmakers to ensure thousands of Guatemalans are not forced to
leave the country where many grew up.
Honduras said in a statement that it would push U.S. Congress to
reconsider Trump's move, and offer consular support for more
than 18,500 Hondurans protected by DACA.
The director of a Honduras migrant aid center, the Center for
Attention for Honduran Migrants, called the U.S. decision "very
sad," and said young Hondurans forced to return home could face
violence from gangs and drug traffickers.
"Their lives will be much more difficult and put at enormous
risk," said Valdette Willeman, the center's director.
(For graphic on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, click
http://tmsnrt.rs/2wC83sF)
(Additional reporting by Daina Beth Solomon, David Alire Garcia,
Adriana Barrera, Gustavo Palencia, Nelson Renteria Meza; Editing
by Leslie Adler and Lisa Shumaker)
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