Trump says program to protect ‘Dreamers’ is ‘probably dead’

President Donald Trump said Sunday that a program that protects immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children is “probably dead,” casting a cloud over already tenuous negotiations just days before a deadline on a government funding deal that Democrats have tied to immigration. At issue is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program created by President Barack Obama to shield hundreds of thousands of these individuals, known as “Dreamers,” from deportation. Trump, who has taken a hard stance against illegal immigration, announced last year that he will end the program unless Congress comes up with a solution by March. Photo: House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., center, joined by Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Mich., second from left, and Hispanic Caucus Chair Rep. Michelle LuJan Grisham, D-N.M., gives his support to “dreamers,” people brought to the U.S. illegally as children, and supporters of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018.