(BIVN) – Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono released the following statement rejecting the Trump administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program:

“After months of empty rhetoric to the contrary, the President took the cruel and unnecessary step to eliminate DACA – exposing more than 800,000 young people to deportation. They are not criminals. They are inspiring young people aptly called DREAMers because of their dream of making a better life for themselves in the only country they know.

“Ending DACA is the latest step this President has taken to attack minority communities and stoke the fear and divisiveness that served as pillars of his campaign and inform his presidency.

“DACA is clearly constitutional. But by rescinding the program, the President puts the onus on Congress to act. Congress must take appropriate action to provide permanent legal status to DREAMers.

“I want to be clear: I reject any effort to hold these young people hostage for an unnecessary waste of money like Donald Trump’s wall.

“I will continue to stand with these inspiring young people and groups all across the country to fight this latest cruel and totally unjustifiable action by the President.”