The announced termination of DACA and the return of an attempt to reinstate the DREAM Act has left the futures of hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants in limbo.

The proposition to end DACA has come with the provision for Congress to find a replacement law within 6 months. However, given the extremely divisive nature of the law, the future looks rather bleak for those affected by the law. The passing of this provision has resulted in mass public outcry and protests, and for good reason. Victimizing children for no good reason only displays a lack of compassion, empathy, and recognition of the very fundamentals of what it means to be this country.

The president, however, has changed his tone in the matter of a day. Given the responses, he has tweeted out incentives for Congress to revisit and ‘codify’ DACA, a complete turnaround from the initial demands made by the president. This statement creates a rather distinct and notable effect for the administration and its relations with the associated political party. Such a discordant issue not only further divides the presidency and the Republican party, but the administration itself.

Regarding the division between Trump and the Republican party, the rift is rather transparent and blatant. The change of position occurs as turning the other cheek on the campaign promises to take a hard stance on immigration. A demand to restate the DREAM Act after the order to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act is a complete turnaround in the face of the statements made and the orders instated regarding immigration. As for the party itself, however, the differences are relatively subtle. Those who are extreme believers of immigration restriction and deportation are quite obviously against this development and are in full support for the removal of DACA. However, political pragmatists who are part of the Republican party fear the long-term effects it may have.

The effects don’t stop there. The divisive nature of this policy means that there will be fewer incentives for Congress to align their agenda with the president, meaning they will be much less sympathetic to other demands that are on the table. Losing favors mean large scale objectives that serve as the cornerstone of the administration, the Border Wall being a prime example, are less likely to successfully pass.

Long-term damage to the United States is inevitable, given an endorsement for deportation. It is virtually conventional wisdom that the influx of immigrants in the United States not only helps the economy but also provides the groundwork for its development and flourishing. To take such a thing away is to simply strike a nonsensical blow in the country’s own economy. Not to mention, jeopardizing the futures of nearly 800,000 young adults does tend to take a toll on one’s moral compass.

The turnaround should be good news for those affected by the DACA removal, but it’s far too soon to sigh in relief. The track record of the DREAM Act and its failure to be passed for 16 years in Congress goes to show the divisive nature of the policy and how difficult it will be for Congress to come to a desirable decision within the 6-month constraint that they have been given.

The indecisiveness creates constant delays in political decision-making, resulting in the jeopardy of hundreds of thousands of lives. The damage does not only restrict Trump’s own administration. It expands to potentially destroying the lives of many children who simply arrived in the lands of immigrants for a chance at a better life, the very reason for which this nation was founded.

But perhaps, this isn’t far from the mission statement of the country. For a nation with the blood of millions of natives on their hands, jeopardizing the lives of a few hundred thousand is maybe merely fodder.