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Utah Immigrants Vow To Fight Repeal Of DACA Program

alternet.org
Protesters of the DACA repeal

Immigrant advocates in Utah are vowing to fight back against President Donald Trump's push to rescind a government program protecting hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children.

About 50 people gathered Tuesday on the steps of the state Capitol to protest the phasing out of President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that includes about 10,000 young immigrants in Utah.

Utah's two U.S. senators gave the Trump administration mixed reviews.

Sen. Orrin Hatch says he urged President Trump not to rescind the program and says the move puts young immigrants in a difficult position.

Sen. Mike Lee applauded the move to peel back what he considered "an illegal abuse of executive power" but says Congress must now find a balance between "compassion and deterring future illegal immigration."