Mexican ambassador to the U.S. Gerónimo Gutiérrez Fernández said his country “deeply regrets” the president’s decision. | Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Mexico 'deeply regrets' Trump’s DACA decision

The Mexican government has formally conveyed its disappointment in President Donald Trump’s decision to rescind a program that offers some protection to undocumented children who entered the United States at an early age.

The Mexican ambassador to the United States, Gerónimo Gutiérrez Fernández, met on Tuesday with the acting secretary of homeland security, Elaine Duke, and said his country “deeply regrets” the president’s decision, according to a news release from the Mexican government.


Gutiérrez said that beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, “are men and women who arrived in the United States in their childhood and have spent most if not all of their lives in the country, where they significantly contribute to the economy and the society.”

He also argued that the program’s termination added greater uncertainty for people in the program.

The Mexican government’s preference is for legislation that grants permanent immigration status to all DACA recipients. Gutiérrez told Duke that Mexico would push Congress and the White House to achieve that goal “in accordance with pertinent diplomatic norms.”

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The Mexican government also announced that it would “intensify consular protection of DACA recipients,” and Gutiérrez asked for increased communication between the U.S. and Mexican governments on the issue.

Trump said on Tuesday that his administration would end DACA, an Obama-era program that offered legal protection to thousands of young undocumented immigrants. Trump also said he would give lawmakers six months to come up with a legislative solution to the issue.

“It is now time for Congress to act!” Trump declared.