New York Police Arrest 47 People Protesting Trump’s Termination of DACA (VIDEO)

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York City to voice their opposition to the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the DACA program for immigrant children.

NEW YORK (Sputnik) — Forty-seven people have been arrested in New York City during a massive rally against US President Donald Trump's decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, New York Police Department (NYPD) spokesperson John Grimpel told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"Total 47 [people] arrested," Grimpel said. "Fourty-six [arrested for] disorderly conduct, [one for] graffiti."

Thousands marching Brooklyn Bridge in New York to protest #DACA announcement. This movement is real. We will #defendDREAMers ✊🏿 pic.twitter.com/Oe7zazKhXg

— Kanisha Jackson (@Kanisha1Jackson) 6 сентября 2017 г.

Photos: Protesters rallying now in New York City against Trump decision to end DACA pic.twitter.com/VqpBkoetS6

— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) 5 сентября 2017 г.

On Tuesday, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the termination of the DACA program, which allowed temporary legal status to individuals that were brought in the United States illegally as children. Sessions said the termination will be implemented with a six-month delay in order to give the US Congress a chance to enact legislation that would grant legal resident status to the children of undocumented immigrants.

Protesters rallied in New York after the Trump administration decided to rescind #DACA pic.twitter.com/NGxWBR2v8v

— Dr. Shraddha Khare (@imShraddhaK) 5 сентября 2017 г.

After reports emerged that Trump aims to cancel the program, the move was criticized by the US Democrats and even some members of the Republican party. The idea also prompted New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo say that the state will sue Trump if the decision is made. Moreover, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed retaliation to the move.

According to New York Immigration Coalition Executive Director Steven Choi, DACA termination will strip the US economy of $460 billion in GDP.

"America will not be safer or richer by depriving nearly one million young people of their liberty, tearing away 700,000 workers from our labor force or robbing the US economy of $460 billion in GDP," Choi told Sputnik.

Choi characterized the decision by the Trump administration to terminate DACA as an act that is senseless and self-defeating.

"[The decision] flies in the face of the principles that truly make America great: opportunity and justice for all," Choi said.

In August, nearly 1,500 US economists sent a letter to Trump stating that the US economy benefits from immigrants. The economists argued that without healthy inflow of immigrants, the US labor force would soon be in decline, while manufacturing, agriculture, construction and the high-tech sectors are expected to suffer most acute worker shortages.

Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, established the DACA program via an executive order in 2012, allowing immigrants who entered the country illegally as minors to receive renewable two-year deferrals on deportation proceedings, as well as permits to work in the United States.