WH: Rescinding DACA 'Not Going to Happen,' Temporary Amnesty Doesn't Send Wrong Message

On Thursday, the White House said that President Barack Obama would not rescind the temporary amnesty program he unilaterally enacted in 2012 because it does not entice more illegal immigrants to come to America.

“That’s not going to happen,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said when asked if Obama would consider rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Those who received temporary amnesty and work permits for two years in 2012 can re-apply for two more years in September, and when asked if the program sends the wrong message to migrants hoping to get amnesty, Earnest said, “I don’t buy that.”

He said that Obama has “sent a very clear, transparent, unmistakable message that parents should not put their children in the hands of criminals to transport them to the southwest border with the expectation that they’ll be welcomed into the country.”

“And it seems to me that those who might be complaining about the President’s actions are more interested in landing political blows than they are in trying to solve this problem,” Earnest said, brushing off critics who believe migrants may see a “coded message” in the temporary amnesty program and Obama’s vow to enact more executive actions.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, “during the decade preceding fiscal year 2012, the federal government agency tasked with caring for unaccompanied minors who cross the border illegally dealt with an average of 7,000 to 8,000 cases a year.” In fiscal year 2011, there were 6,560, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Yet, as the Monitor noted, the following year, when Obama enacted DACA, “the number jumped to 13,625,” and at least 50,000 have entered illegally since October of last year. Officials estimate at least 150,000-160,000 more will try next year.

Though White House officials have gone on a public relations campaign to tell Central Americans that they will not receive amnesty, many illegal immigrants have said they traveled to America believing the Obama administration would never deport them if they made it across the U.S.-Mexico border.