President Donald Trump remarked Friday that undocumented immigrants known as “dreamers” should “rest easy,” the latest of his statements to indicate his administration won’t take a hardline approach to dealing with the group.
Speaking about his immigration policy with The Associated Press, Trump said his administration’s policy is “not after the dreamers, we are after the criminals.”
The term “dreamers” refers to a group of undocumented immigrants who crossed the border at a young age and grew up in America. Many of them have gone to college in the US.
President Barack Obama placed protections on the group with a 2012 executive order called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that shielded dreamers from deportation.
Although Trump has issued executive orders to strengthen the US-Mexican border and deport more illegal immigrants, his position on DACA has been unclear.
In February, Trump told reporters, “DACA is a very, very difficult subject for me,” and he has since mentioned that he plans to deal with the issue with “great heart.”