Trump ends amnesty for 800,000 immigrants

Washington, Sep 5 (IANS) The Trump administration announced on Tuesday the elimination of the DACA programme that has shielded nearly 800,000 undocumented young people from deporation.

However, it established a six-month grace period to allow Congress to devise a solution for the plight of the beneficiaries, known as DREAMers, Efe news agency reported.

Earlier on Monday, President Donald Trump called on Congress to come up with legislation to replace the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme.

"Congress, get ready to do your job - DACA!" Trump tweeted.

Implemented in 2012 by Obama, DACA gave young people who were brought illegally into the US as children the opportunity to pursue education or jobs without fear of deportation.

DACA status must be renewed every two years.

The Obama administration conceived of DACA as a way to aid the intended beneficiaries of the DREAM Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation that has been stalled in Congress for more than a decade.

Some 75 per cent of the so-called "dreamers" were born in Mexico, according to Citizenship and Immigration Services.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump vowed to end DACA on his first day in the White House, but he later acknowledged that the issue was "one of the most difficult" to address and promised he would deal with it "with heart."

The Attorney Generals of at least nine conservative states, led by Texas, challenged Obama's executive order as unconstitutional and pressured Trump to terminate the programme, threatening to sue the federal government immediately if DACA is not ended.