IN PICTURES: The decision to eliminate DACA provoked an immediate and passionate backlash from migrant justice advocates across the United States.
Despite the clear signals that President Donald Trump would drop the axe on a program that protects unauthorized immigrant young adults from deportation, the announcement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions provoked an immediate and passionate backlash from the 800,000 young immigrants who benefited from the program, as well as their supporters.
Across the U.S., people were outraged as they heard the attorney general – scarcely able to conceal his joy over the cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA – announce that revoking the rights of qualifying migrant youths was the “compassionate thing to do.”
In Washington, D.C., protesters poured out in front of the White House to defend DACA and voice their outrage over the cancellation of the program, while in Manhattan, New York, several were arrested after locking arms to block traffic in front of Trump Tower. Protests continued to unfold across the country late into the night.
Pictures
Young DACA recipients, Mario, Melanie and Luis, watch U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' announcement on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, on a projection screen at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) headquarters in Los Angeles, California, Sept. 5, 2017.Reuters
Attorney General Sessions speaks at a news conference to address the DACA program at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., Sept. 5, 2017.Reuters
Paulina, 26, a DACA recipient, is comforted after watching the U.S. Attorney General's announcement on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on a screen at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 5, 2017. Paulina, a graduate of UCLA, arrived in the U.S. when she was 6 years old. She said the decision was really upsetting but she was going to continue to work to push members of Congress to enact a law to protect their rights. "We are not going to give up", she said.Reuters
Diana Ramos, a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program recipient, becomes emotional while speaking during a rally outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles, California, Sept. 5, 2017.Reuters
Protestors gather outside the Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C. to protest President Donald Trump's plan to repeal DACA, Sept. 5, 2017.Reuters
Protesters march around City Hall to protest the planned dissolution of DACA in Manhattan, New York City, Sept. 5, 2017.Reuters
Protesters march around City Hall to protest the planned dissolution of DACA in Manhattan, New York City, Sept. 5, 2017.Reuters
Protesters march around City Hall to protest the planned dissolution of DACA in Manhattan, New York City, Sept. 5, 2017.Reuters
Protestors gather outside the Trump International Hotel to protest President Donald Trump's plan to repeal DACA in Washington, D.C., Sept. 5, 2017.Reuters
DACA recipient Jose Luis Perales walks through his home with articles of clothes and damaged household goods piled up inside his home left from the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey, in Houston, Texas, Sept. 1, 2017.Reuters
Demonstrators hold signs during a protest in front of the White House after the Trump administration scrapped DACA in Washington, D.C. Sept. 5, 2017.Reuters
Demonstrators block roads near the White House to protest President Donald Trump's plan to repeal DACA in Washington, D.C., September 5, 2017.Reuters