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Gov. Rick Scott wants young immigrants under DACA to stay

Posted at 6:04 AM, Sep 04, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-04 06:04:39-04

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Rick Scott wants Congress to take action to let young immigrants brought into the country illegally by their parents to remain in the United States.

Scott late Friday jumped into the debate over the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which has given nearly 800,000 young immigrants the ability to work legally in the country and a reprieve from deportation.

President Donald Trump is expected to announce this week that he'll end the program.

The Republican governor said in a statement that "I do not favor punishing children for the actions of their parents."

Scott, who is expected to challenge U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson next year, did say that then-President Barack Obama was wrong to create the program by executive order.