- By: CARLOS SANTOSCOY
- Image: ABC News
LGBT rights groups on Tuesday reacted swiftly and negatively to the news of President Donald Trump's plan to rescind DACA.
The Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which former President Barack Obama implemented in 2012, allowed undocumented immigrants brought to the United Stares by their families as children to remain here.
Trump on Tuesday announced that he would rescind DACA after a six month delay to allow Congress time to act on the issue.
“Today and every day, the LGBTQ community stands with Dreamers,” Chad Griffin, President of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), said in a video message. “Many LGBTQ people know what it feels like to hide who they are as an act of survival, to look over their shoulder in fear. This is what we've fought against for decades, and we can't let Donald Trump and Mike Pence push anyone back into the shadows simply because of who they are.”
According to Griffin, 75,000 LGBTQ Dreamers are living in the United States.
“Whether it's transgender troops or young immigrant Americans, President Trump appears bent on singling out and harming people and families that he sees as different,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.
Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, added: “Along with his Muslim ban and pardon of Joe Arpaio, this cruel act is a trifecta of President Trump's full embrace to the violent, out-of-touch ideology of white supremacists. The LGBTQ community stands with fair-minded Americans in demanding that hardworking and patriotic DREAMers be allowed access to the American Dream.”