Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke defended the Trump administration's decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, calling the White House's decision the "least disruptive" choice.

In an internal memo to staff obtained by ProPublica, Duke said the Trump administration made the choice based on what they believed was legally defensible.

"As a result of recent litigation, we were faced with two options: wind the program down in an orderly fashion that protects beneficiaries in the near-term while working with Congress to pass legislation, or potentially allow the judiciary to shut the program down completely and immediately," Duke told Department of Homeland Security employees.

"The administration chose the least disruptive option."

.@DHSgov sec just sent internal all-staff memo about DACA:



"I sympathize with the DACA recipients whose futures may now be less certain" pic.twitter.com/Rznv8mrtOk — Marcelo Rochabrún (@mrochabrun) September 5, 2017

ADVERTISEMENT

Duke argued that former President Obama had good intentions when he signed the order establishing the program in 2012, but went about it the wrong way.

"I believe President Obama had genuine intentions for DACA," Duke said, "and was clearly frustrated by his inability to maneuver through the legislative process. But a Secretarial memo is not a substitute for a law written by Congress and signed by the president."

She added that because DACA never guaranteed citizenship for its beneficiaries, it was actually a "lie that left recipients in two-year cycles of uncertainty."

"I am very aware of the consequences of this action," Duke said, "and I sympathize with DACA recipients whose futures may be less certain."

Approximately 800,000 immigrants benefit from the program, which protects people who were brought to the country illegally as children. DACA beneficiaries passed background checks and paid a fee to get deferral from deportation and a work permit.

Duke's words echo a statement released by Trump on Tuesday, explaining that his decision to end the program centered on his concern over the abuse of constitutional authority by his predecessor.

"There can be no path to principled immigration reform if the executive branch is able to rewrite or nullify federal laws at will," Trump wrote in a statement.