DACA tweet

DOJ spokeswoman: 'You'll have to ask' Trump about his DACA tweet

By LOUIS NELSON

Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said that the president would continue to pressure lawmakers when asked Wednesday morning what President Donald Trump meant Tuesday night when he wrote online that he would “revisit” the DACA program if Congress does not act in six months to codify it into law.

“Well, you can't put a lot of nuance in 140 characters. And I think revisit is a lot shorter than put more pressure. So you'll have to ask the president,” Flores, the director of public affairs for the Department of Justice, told CNN’s “New Day” Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced that it would discontinue DACA, a program that granted work permits to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, on grounds that it was unconstitutional and soon to be struck down by courts. A six-month delay on the program’s sunset leaves Congress a window to protect the so-called Dreamers with legislation.

Trump suggested Tuesday night, however, that his six-month deadline might not be ironclad and that he may step in, writing online that “Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can't, I will revisit this issue!”

Beyond suggesting that Trump use “tools at his disposal to put more pressure on Congress,” Flores declined to clarify what other steps the president might take to shield the Dreamers, for whom he has professed “a great love” and promised to treat with “great heart.” Flores said Trump’s decision to create a six-month winddown period for DACA would actually prove to be a compassionate step, because it removed the possibility of an immediate end to the program via court order.

She also blamed the Obama administration for creating what she said has proven to be a program with an untenable legal foundation.

“Actually the last administration targeted [Dreamers] by creating this false promise. Deferred action means that it was deferred. It means there was never a permanent situation here,” Flores said, referencing DACA’s full name, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. “And yes, now Congress has the chance to act on this, as they always did and should have. And I understand the last administration was frustrated. But that doesn't mean you get to make the law up on your own.”