The Trump administration has been chipping away at the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provided protection from deportation for young illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children. The program, created by the Obama administration, allowed these individuals to obtain work permits and live in the country without fear of deportation.

Detentions and Deportations

However, under the Trump administration, many of these individuals have been detained and deported. According to the Department of Homeland Security, hundreds of people who had been granted deferred action have been detained since Trump took office. At least 85 people without a criminal conviction or pending criminal charge have been deported.

One such individual is JeanCarlos Fiallos Manzanares, who was brought to the United States as a child and had been living in the country for over 25 years. He was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents near his mother’s house in Miami and is now being held at a detention center in New Mexico.

Changes to DACA

The Trump administration has made several changes to the DACA program, including slashing access to healthcare benefits and prohibiting deferred action holders from obtaining or using commercial driver’s licenses. The administration has also begun slow-walking renewals and work authorizations, leaving many recipients out of compliance and forcing them to lose their jobs.

Former Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who created the DACA program, has criticized the Trump administration’s actions, saying that they are effectively killing off the program without explicitly ending it.

Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.