Recently, President Trump announced that he would end DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) after a six-month delay, giving Congress time to work out a solution. This announcement came just before 10 states were set to initiate lawsuits against the program. Created by President Obama through an executive order, DACA is an abuse of executive power. A program of this scale and on an issue as divisive as immigration deserves the input of Congress. President Obama even said in 2011 before he established this program that it was not to be done by the executive.

“There are enough laws on the books by Congress that are very clear in terms of how we have to enforce our immigration system that for me to simply, through executive order, ignore those congressional mandates would not conform with my appropriate role as president,” Obama said.

In fact, Obama went on the record 22 times stating he lacked the appropriate authority to establish a program such as DACA. However, in typical Obama fashion, he went ahead and ignored his own words and his “appropriate role as president.” In doing so, Obama did a great disservice to the hundreds of thousands of people affected by DACA. He gave them a false sense of security under a program that in his own words was “not a permanent fix, [but] a temporary stopgap measure.”

He also subjected them to a legal nightmare as the odds of DACA not holding up in court and following a similar path of his failed DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans) were high. With numerous states threatening to follow up on their successful stopping of DAPA with litigation against DACA, President Trump was right to act. By giving Congress the ability to create a proper immigration law, he is restoring proper constitutional order and ensuring strong legal framework. This is the way the country is meant to govern, not by a pen and a phone.

Of course the left, as usual, is outraged and inconsolable over the thought of someone actually following the Constitution. Before proclaiming the world is ending, wait and see the proposed policy and text of the bill. Immigration is an issue that is not to be treated lightly. Millions of people’s lives are impacted by this and it will have a key role in shaping our nation in the coming decades.

Regardless of your stance on the immigration issue, DACA is a flawed program that was created through improper methods. One individual should not be solely responsible for the lives of 800,000 people. This is why it is now up to Congress to live up to its intended function and create legislation.

Contact Brett Wakeman

at [email protected].