Former US President Barack Obama has attacked the Trump administration for scrapping his scheme to protect young undocumented migrants from deportation.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) programme was rescinded on Tuesday, in a move that could affect some 800,000 beneficiaries.
While existing recipients will see no impact for at least six months, no new applications can now be made.
Appealing to Congress, Mr Obama said the decision was “cruel” and “wrong”.
The so-called “Dreamers”, mostly Latin Americans, were able to apply for work and study permits under the policy he introduced five years ago.
The Trump administration argues that the programme, which Mr Obama bypassed Congress in order to enact, was unconstitutional,
In a tweet, President Donald Trump, said he now looked forward to working with both Democrats and Republicans in Congress to “address immigration reform in a way that puts hardworking citizens of our country 1st”.
“Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can’t, I will revisit this issue!” he added, in a second tweet.
Police in New York made at least a dozen arrests when protesters rallied in front of Trump Tower, US media report, but there were no reports of clashes.
