Former President Bill Clinton said the decision is "bad policy that solves no pressing problem and raises new ones." | Arne Dedert/Pool Photo via AP Bill Clinton condemns 'cruel' White House DACA decision

Former President Bill Clinton on Tuesday night denounced the Trump administration's decision to end an Obama-era program that has provided protections to thousands of young undocumented immigrants, saying it will “crush their dreams and weaken the American dream for the rest of us.”

Clinton said in a statement that the decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, commonly known as DACA, was "wrong because it’s bad policy that solves no pressing problem and raises new ones. It’s wrong because it’s irresponsible, passing the buck instead of offering sensible solutions for immigration reform.”


He added: “Most of all, it’s wrong because it’s cruel to send these young people to places many of them have never lived and do not know. For them this is home. The United States is their home.”

Clinton joined Barack Obama as the second former president to speak out Tuesday against President Donald Trump's decision to upend DACA.

Obama, who counted the DACA program as one of the landmark achievements of his presidency and promised to speak out if Trump sought to rescind it, similarly called the White House's action "cruel" and "self-defeating" in a Facebook post earlier Tuesday.

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"To target these young people is wrong — because they have done nothing wrong," Obama wrote hours after the decision was announced by Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "It is self-defeating — because they want to start new businesses, staff our labs, serve in our military, and otherwise contribute to the country we love. And it is cruel."

Neither Obama nor Clinton, however, directly cited Trump in their denunciations Tuesday.

The former presidents both called on Congress to act in response to the Trump administration's actions and extend protections to the so-called Dreamers, who receive protections from DACA.

“Congress should act immediately to protect their status and pave the way for their future and America’s future,” Clinton said. Obama's statement said that now "it’s up to Members of Congress to protect these young people and our future."