Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly issued a memo Thursday night stating that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program launched by President Barack Obama in 2012 — which granted renewable two-year protections from deportation to unauthorized immigrants who’d come to the US as children and met other requirements — would remain in effect. (DAPA would have granted the same protections and work authorizations to parents of US citizens that DACA did to DREAMers.) "DACA remains in place – for now – but it's clear that they are using it as cover to deport everyone else. The decision, a one-line mention at the bottom of a memo the Department of Homeland Security released Thursday night, is also a reversal of a campaign promise of Donald Trump, who pledged as a candidate to "immediately terminate" protections offered by program. That program has never been in full effect, as it was enjoined by the courts, and the Homeland Security's decision merely formalizes what has been ongoing policy. “The June 15, 2012 DACA memorandum,” Secretary Kelly wrote in a memo on Thursday, “will remain in effect.” 
 
 An FAQ on the DHS website makes the meaning unmistakably clear: “DACA recipients will continue to be eligible as outlined in the June 15, 2012 memorandum,” and current DACA recipients will continue to be eligible for two-year extensions. "Protecting DACA is not only central for immigrants' rights, it is deeply personal. The memo details the administration's decision to abandon the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA, program, which protected the parents of legal residents and U.S. citizens from deportation. America's Voice and other pro-immigrant advocates believe the administration wants to focus its attention on other immigrant targets, including those convicted of minor crimes. Many unauthorized immigrants who don’t have DACA are every bit as integrated as those who are; there are many “terrific people” (as Trump once described DREAMers) who don’t have DACA. UPDATE: This story has been updated to reflect comments from Trump administration officials that, despite the memo of June 15, a final decision hasn’t yet been made about the ultimate fate of the DACA program.
– On the fifth anniversary of President Obama's "Dreamers" program, the Trump administration included the following single line in a memo to the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday: "The June 15, 2012 memorandum that created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will remain in effect." This was a surprise to many, as President Trump promised during the campaign to "immediately terminate" protections for Dreamers, people brought to the US illegally by their parents before turning 16, according to US News & World Report. The memo means Dreamers will continue to be able to use and apply for permits to work in the US. "This is a big victory for Dreamers amid months of draconian and mean-spirited immigration enforcement policy," an immigration lawyer tells the New York Times. But that doesn't mean Dreamers can rest easy. On Friday, White House officials said that despite the memo Trump hasn't made any decision on the future of the DACA program and may still fulfill his campaign promise. That led to disappointment from immigration advocates—including the lawyer quoted above—that Dreamers are still facing an uncertain future. Vox reports there are currently more than 750,000 Dreamers in the US. The program allows them to legally work in the US for two years without fear of deportation under a number of conditions. Many Dreamers have no connection to their homelands and some don't even speak the languages of those homelands.